Through It All
by Celebrianna1
Summary: Five years after the fall of Fire Lord Ozai, Aang and Katara meet at Fire Lord Zuko's banquet on Ember Island, the magical place that is purported to lead its visitors to self-discovery. Will this be their last chance at love?
1. Tale of the Years

_Wow! I'm truly surprised at myself. I never thought that I'd be inspired to write fan fiction for anything else but Lord of the Rings. Curiously, the EIP angst hit me so hard that I was motivated to write this very short story with the FALSE premise that Katara's confusion wasn't resolved by the end of the finale. As a rule, I don't mess with canon even in fan fiction. I like to respect the creators/authors work and write within their canon framework. So, for this one time, I'll bend my rule._

_I chose to write this story in first person because it's easier for me right now when considering the work I have to do for my other fan fiction. Consequently, the story will be from Aang and Katara's point of view in a more matured way. They should be 18 and 20 years now, respectively._

_I'll also mention that I was given added inspiration to write this when I saw a sketch of Older Aang and Older Katara at deviant art by the artist Allagea._

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**Aang's Narrative**

I am Aang, the Avatar and the last Airbender in the world. Five years have passed since the fall of Fire Lord Ozai, which ushered in an era of peace amongst the three great nations. Since then, I have traveled the world to begin my part to restore its balance and to help rebuild the nations that had been ravished and scarred by the Fire Nation's past aggression. As mediator, I have worked with Fire Lord Zuko and the leaders of the other nations to begin the long, arduous road towards reconciliation. The prejudices and grudges against the Fire Nation would not, and could not, be removed by the work of a few years; the hurts that had been inflicted were too deeply seated in the minds of the nations and their profound distrust of the aims of the Fire Nation could not be easily swayed. Fire Lord Zuko had much to do to raise the honor and integrity of his nation from its dark pit of ignominy, and, as the Avatar and his friend, I intended to help him in whatever way that I could. In the eyes of the world, his nation was irredeemable; its past sins had been too many; the peoples of the world had through many lifetimes endured with the excessive cruelty dished out by conquering and ruthless fire nation soldiers, who, in their raids, demonstrated a wanton disregard for their lives, as they seized their homes and burned them to the ground. These memories were still vivid in their minds and it was hard for them to believe in and accept this new hand of friendship extended from their past enemy.

In those days, the ugliness of political strife became very real to me. From the small, fiery rebellions in the Fire Nation to the quiet, elegant courts of Ba Sing Se, I saw and experienced much of this during the first two years after the war. Not everyone in the Fire Nation was willing to approve of their new Fire Lord's ideals for the future of their homeland; there were many dissenters who still held to that lofty idea of the Fire Nation's supreme rule over all the lands of the world. And, while some challenged their liege lord through the proper channels, with due honor and reason, others resorted to oppose him through meticulously planned and orchestrated coups, which failed only because we anticipated them. Some were upset that Fire Lord Zuko had issued a decree to recall all his armies from the waters and lands of the other nations. Only by the leave of the leaders of these nations were a few of his armies able to remain in their lands. By this were corrupt generals, who were enamored with the pleasure that their exalted power afforded them, exposed; in direct defiance to the Fire Lord's decree, they would not and did not relinquish their conquered lands without a fight.

There had been many conflicts in those early years and there was still many more that would come after these. The Dai-Li, for one thing, was, for the most part, still at large and the Earth King, who had returned to reclaim his throne in Ba Sing Se after word of the Fire Lord's fall had reached him, desired to bring these traitors, as he so labeled them, to justice. Some had turned themselves in and pleaded for the pardon of their sovereign, and were striped free of their titles and condemned to serve in menial posts in exchange for their freedom. As to the others, well, they proved more cunning in their seclusion, in that they eluded all of the Council of Five's concerted efforts to find them and bring them to justice. Posters of the more notorious members of the Dai-Li had been circulated throughout the Earth Kingdom, which became fair business for bounty hunters who were enticed by the Earth Kingdom's offer of a handsome reward for the capture of any of these men. Yet, in these five years, only five of the twelve had been discovered.

Almost two years after the war had ended, in the midst of these troubles, the leaders of the nations were finally ready to convene in Ba Sing Se to discuss, among other things, matters of restitution. Disillusioned by the political disputes that had succeeded the war through many, many months, I never imagined that it would be an easy thing for the leaders to reach an agreement in these monetary settlements; however, I believe nothing could have prepared me for the bitter discord that arose at the time among these great men, whom I had personally come to know and respect as noble leaders. In my young mind, there was no price that could compensate for the precious lives that had been lost over the last, war-torn century. While I did understand something of the monetary grievances of the other nations that had suffered such damages by the heavy hand of the Fire Nation through the tumultuous years, it was still an unpleasant experience for me. I suppose as the Avatar and an Air Nomad, I could not fully appreciate these debates, which were, as I said before, sometimes very heated, as there was little that I valued, if anything, of worldly possessions. In the end, when that dreadful hurdle was eventually passed, and the genuine hand of friendship could begin its work, I felt relieved, and at last at liberty, to begin my travels. I had been working continuously with the leaders of the nations since the war had ended and it was now time for a vacation.

During the time of these discussions, I had met a new friend, Horonka, who hailed from the Northern Water Tribe; he was of the royal house of Chief Arnook, being the youngest son of his sister, and part of the royal delegation that came to Ba Sing Se. After the discussions had ended, when Chief Arnook was ready to set sail from the Earth Kingdom to return to his tribe, he had invited me to return with his entourage; he intended to hold a feast in my honor and in the memory of those courageous souls that had sacrificed their lives to uphold the freedom of their people. I had recollected Yue then, and my thoughts had naturally turned to Sokka, whom, at the time, I had not seen for over a year. He and Katara had returned to the South Pole with their father for a long overdue homecoming with Gran-Gran. From the very beginning, their wish had been to help me achieve my destiny; now it was their turn to look to theirs, but I confess that I've missed them through the years.

In the North Pole, Appa, Momo and I spent the better part of a year, which, by its end, marked the third year since the war had ended. Horonka, my new friend, was an excellent water-bender and we spent a good portion of our leisure time surfing the cold, icy seas of the North Pole. I found that as the years passed, this incredible power within me only continued to grow, and with it, I could create enormous waves that made for an exhilarating surfing experience. Even Horonka, who was a serious, brooding guy, who generally seemed to lack a sense of humor, enjoyed these icy escapades. I had a great time in the North Pole and perhaps because of sentimental reasons, I was especially endeared to that place.

When it was time for me to return to the Earth Kingdom, Horonka, who had always longed to travel the world, gained permission from his Chief to travel with me for a few months; those few months, however, soon turned into years as the greater need to help the peoples of the world outweighed his desire to return to his people. In Omashu, which I was now to call my home, we stayed two months before returning to Ba Sing Se. My old friend Bumi had offered me several rooms in his palace that would serve as my own quarters. For the next two years, my Avatar duties took Horonka and me to places far and wide, but for the most part, we spent our time throughout the Earth Kingdom and in the walled city of Ba Sing Se to help that once great city that was still weakened and divided in the aftermath of the Dai Li's betrayal and corruption.

Here now, I must tell of Toph, who during this last year has been much with us. A year after the war, she had returned home to reconcile with her family, which turned out to be a rockier road than even she expected. She had a big problem. Her parents no longer trusted her and demanded that she break all ties with us, whom they deemed as bad influences. It did not matter that our little gang had saved the world; in their minds, we were the culprits who were to share in the blame for Toph's rebellion; they had openly welcomed us into their homes, fed us, sheltered us, and we had betrayed their trust. Hence, Toph was absolutely forbidden to contact us, and for a long time, we could not hear anything of her; she intended to do things right this time to win over her parents even if at the beginning it appeared hopeless.

It was not until one evening, almost three years later, when Horonka and I were guests at the Earth King's bash in Ba Sing Se, that I saw her again. She was with her parents, who did not welcome me on their own accord, but did so rather because of the Earth King, who spoke well of me to them. Not only that, he spoke very highly of Toph to her parents, elaborating lengthily upon her merits as a powerful earth and metal bender, and her bravado during the downfall of the Earth Kingdom, which, I personally believe did much to overturn their excessively protective attitude towards Toph, who was, at the time, seventeen years old. That was the first glimpse of hope that Toph had of gaining their forgiveness and the extra perk of her freedom. She later told me that after the Earth King's party, little by little, her parents' attitude towards her began to change and that they actually began to be proud of her. Her mother, especially, having seen the many refugees that swarmed the lower level of Ba Sing Se, began to think of the good that Toph could do in our effort to escort the refugees from the Earth Kingdom capital back to their villages.

Not long after this, Toph joined Horonka, and I, as a guide and helper throughout the Earth Kingdom. When we were not escorting refugees, we spent our days roaming from village to village, helping to re-build homes and cities and healing the hurts left by the Fire Nation. The villagers would often reward us with food and shelter, which was sufficient enough for us, and generally, we were glad to help. We asked nothing of them but they gave to us, freely. Our lives were good, except that Horonka and Toph had a terrible penchant to bicker with one another, almost on a daily basis, which before I got used to it, would drive me insane. Now, I just shrug and accept it as an inevitable part of our lives. Their friendship, which is a genuinely good one, still puzzles me, especially since they argue over the stupidest things; at least, that was my opinion anyway. Yet, there were times when I got a persistent vibe that things were not truly what they appeared between them. There were moments when some act of kindness, whether on Toph's part or Horonka's part, that made me suspect them of liking each other in a way that was more than normal. But that thought was almost always erased by a squabble in the next moment. As it is, I don't know what to think of them and I gave up trying to figure that one out a long time ago.

Here, I must now tell of the hidden sorrow that has plagued my heart constantly through these five years, which, no matter how hard I have tried to overcome it, would not leave me alone. Before my great battle with Fire Lord Ozai, I had declared myself to Katara and was left with the tormented and stinging uncertainty of its return; she had declared herself confused and I, like an idiot, had made the situation worse by kissing her. Ah, I can barely remember this without blushing and feeling an immense amount of embarrassment. It had been a bad move on my part and one that I sincerely and bitterly regret. Still, by the end of the war, a war that she had given as one of the reasons for her confusion, nothing had passed between us to resolve the matter; we had parted as friends and with nothing more than a warm hug and a few wishes to see each other soon. I think I knew in my heart then that my hope was in vain, and it was many months after our parting that it was finally struck dead.

When I was younger, this painful truth had once or twice brought me to the black pit of despair. I cannot fully explain or describe the depth of this sorrow. I only know that the blinding pain that I felt by this love that was denied me was far more crippling than anything I had ever experienced before. Without realizing it, I had built all of my hope around Katara. I found myself questioning the Universe; I wondered why I had been placed in this time, so far removed from the era when, my people, the Air Nomads had thrived and were happy. What was my purpose in being here now, a century later? I was charged with the duty of caring for a world that no longer held any happiness or hope for me. What was my life without Katara? My Katara! How could I hate her for denying me her heart? She had been my faithful companion through all of my adversities. She had been my light when the road beyond seemed dark and impassable. She had been my joy when I was overwhelmed by sorrow. She had been my strength, my rock, my safe harbor when my doubts overpowered me. She had believed in me when I could not believe in myself. What do I not owe her? With her own healing hands she had brought me back from the cold grip of death. I was certain that without her, I would lose my way.

And, I did, for a time, until my faith was renewed in my duty, as the Avatar. I soon found that my loneliness and sadness was lessened by the reward of helping others; and, with each passing day, this purpose was strengthened within me. Only in the solitary watches of night, when I wasn't wearied by the labors of the day, did this hidden sorrow grieve me. Even in these later years, I admit that at times the long stretches of years ahead are more like a burden to me than any other doom could inflict. Yet, through this all, I have learnt to be strong. Deep within, I have always known that the path that I walk was destined to be one of separation. I had known it back when the monks first told me that I was the Avatar and I knew it now. Perhaps this was the true test of my life, to bear the courage to love without requital, for I was certain that I could never love another. My heart was and always would be Katara's, however unlucky for me.

"Jeez, Twinkletoes, are you deaf?" I felt a sharp thump on my arm, bringing me back promptly to the present; it was Toph. We were at Firelord Zuko's beach house on Ember Island. "I asked if you've seen Horonko?"

"No! Why? We're going surfing in a bit."

"I thought we were flying back to the Earth Kingdom this morning," said she, a little annoyed.

"We will, I promise," I replied as I picked up my beach towel from the porch's railing. "Here's Horonka."

"Look, Toph, you're the one who wanted to leave this early," said Horonka, as he approached in shorts and a towel slung casually over one of his tanned shoulder while Momo sat perched on his other shoulder. "The only thing I want to do right now is relax, enjoy the beach and maybe do some surfing later. We've been working nonstop these past few months. I'd say we deserve this break."

"Don't worry, Toph," I encouraged in an attempt to crush the birth of an argument in the face of Horonka's provocation, "we're going to get you to Earth Rumble in good time. Appa should get us there within a day's journey."

"He'd better," muttered she under her breath, before storming off into the house where Mai and Zuko were still within having breakfast.

"She's such a brat!" observed Horonka. "Why do you always give in to her? You shouldn't encourage her to act any more spoiled than she already is."

"Hey, where there's a way to peace, I'll gladly take it," I said in my own defense. "Besides, Toph's a good friend; any chance I get to do something good for her, I will."

"I thought you wanted to see your friends," he said frowning. "Aren't they arriving this afternoon?"

He was right. Sokka, Suki and Katara were expected in the harbors of the Fire Nation by dusk, providing that the tide was good. At least, that's what Fire Lord Zuko had told us a few days ago. That news had been somewhat of a mixed joy for me. It had been four long years since I had seen Katara; I yearned to see her…but I also feared for my heart. I had come to realize then that all these years I had been deceiving myself; as long as she was a continent away, I could be strong and even congratulate myself on being so. As soon as I was confronted with the ambivalent pleasure of seeing her again, my doubts had returned in full measure to beset me. I had to fortify myself against all dreadful possibilities; the worse of these being that she was betrothed to another; the next worse being that I was unable to enjoy her company without a tragic sense of loss. I had always imagined that by the time of our next meeting I would be comfortable enough with my own shielding to be able to withstand any news that might be injurious to my feelings and to truly rejoice with her as her best friend.

"Hey Aang, didn't you hear me?" I heard Horonka's impatient voice asking. "What's with you today?"

"Eh, yeah, sorry about that," I replied. "We'll be back in time to see them anyway. It's not often that Toph asks me to do her a favor; and Zuko's banquet is not until next week. Our friends will be here for a while."

"But you know how it is with us. We're always being called away at the most inconvenient times."

He was right again. "Yeah, but I'm willing to take the chance."

By late afternoon, our friends from the Water Tribe had not arrived, and with a little regret and some relief on my part, we were forced to begin our journey back to the Earth Kingdom.


	2. The Storm

_Thanks for the encouraging reviews and favorites, guys._

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**Aang's Narrative**

Lately I've been thinking that perhaps Horonka wasn't so wrong in his contentious stance that our little team was a magnet for trouble. It seemed that no matter where our peregrinations took us, peril was never slack to make its appearance. We'd been flying over the south-western lands of the Earth Kingdom for several hours before the first symptom of its mischief materialized.

"Aang, I think we'd better find shelter fast," shouted Horonka, whose voice was bandied about upon the escalating, vacillating force of the wind. "There's no way we can make it through this storm tonight."

I'd been pondering the same thing for some time now, but was constrained by a lingering feeling of guilt for disappointing Toph for a second time. In the rapidly shortening distance, the dark, ominous clouds that mantled the eastern sky were momentarily brightened by a fierce, terrific, crackling series of lightning bolts. Almost instantly upon their heels was a violent, deafening, rumbling clap of thunder which seemed to reverberate even to the remotest corners of the sky. Momo, who was affrighted by the belligerent ferocity of this looming storm, sprang impetuously unto my leg and buried his face within the sanctuary of my robes. "Its okay, Momo," I gently coaxed as I caressed the soft fur on his back. "We'll be fine." In answer to Horonka's urging, I told him that I'd defer to Toph. "It's her call," I cried, as I tightened my grip on the leathern straps of Appa's reigns. As we began to draw into the apathetic clutches of the storm, large, sporadic drops of rain began to smack us.

"Well, Toph, what will it be?" I heard Horonka ask her from where I sat straddled upon Appa's head. "There's a bad storm brewing in the East. Not to be a cynic, but if you ask me, considering our luck these past few weeks, we'd better not risk it."

"Okay," said Toph, a tad bit nettled. "But, as soon as the storm breaks, Twinkle-toes," she added emphatically in an imperious tenor, "we must leave. No sticking around to clean anybody's wells…no sticking around to fix their houses…no sticking around to meddle in anybody's business…no sticking around for anything…period. Got that?"

"You have my word," I agreed, smiling subtly as I turned to face her where she knelt in the saddle, glaring forward in my general direction, with a glum look of determination settled upon her face.

"Why does this tournament mean so much to you anyway?" I heard Horonka ask her. "It's not like you haven't already proven yourself. Everyone that I've met who knows anything of you has openly acknowledged that your skill in earth-bending is rivaled by no other."

"You wouldn't understand," I heard Toph rejoin in a soft, solemn timbre that greatly conflicted with her usual, blithe temperament.

"Oh, I see, is this a girl thing, Toph?" was Horonka's derisive retort. Seriously, he seemed positively offended by Toph's ready dismissal of his inquiry, which I assumed was ventured in an effort to get inside of her head; in the past, he had once or twice confided to me that no one could really know Toph because she buries her emotions, when things concerned her very nearly, under an inscrutable air of insouciance. To a certain extent, I agree with him. At times there were bursts of revelation in which I was able to see a shadow of a softer side that she kept guarded against the world, and enshrouded beneath her habitual, impenetrable veneer. Yet, she was forthright in her opinions and never hesitated to tell Horonka or me what she truly thought of us and our actions. I found this paradox in her character a bit eccentric.

Then again, maybe that's just the way girls were. Heaven knows that my own judgment where they were concerned had fallen short several times too many; my biggest consummate failure, in this respect, being that of my misinterpretation of Katara's feelings. Yes, I'll admit it here and now, that through the years I've examined it to death. In my quest to comprehend where exactly my understanding had failed, I'd been forced to revisit memories that were both thrilling and painful to me. Before that fateful night on Ember Island, I had earnestly believed that her romantic favor had rested upon me. Ah, what a fool I had been then! In my naivety, I did not fully understand that unique benevolence that governed her character, and therefore her actions. I'd been veritably mistaken; I'd confused her kindness for love. After all, hadn't I seen the same strain of compassion towards Haru, Jet, Zuko and countless others? It was a bitter lesson learned, and one that I hope I'd never forget.

"Aang, what're doing?" Toph bellowed, jolting me from my somber reverie. I hadn't noticed that I was veering off our course. "Didn't you hear that noise?"

"What…!" exclaimed Horonka; the rest of his voice was smothered by a vehement, crashing uproar from below that we realized at once could only augur ill. I pulled gently upon Appa's reigns to guide him around for a closer look from our elevated vantage. "Aang! Down there!" I followed Horonka's outstretched hand to a steep hill where the earth was violently rushing towards a green valley that separated it from a large, and at the moment, dimly lit, village. If it weren't for the feeble rays of the partly obscured moonlight, everything would be pitch-black to our sight. "This is bad! Didn't I tell you that trouble courts us wherever we go?"

The wind's gales whipped vexingly about us as I brought Appa down with some difficulty unto the green, tangled turf of the small valley. "Horonka, quick, take Appa and Momo with you and warn the villagers," I yelled above the turbulent gusts of wind that sorely pressed us backward and seemed wickedly intent upon divesting us of the very clothes upon our backs. "Bring as many earth-benders as you can gather in a hurry; we'll need their help." I swiftly swept our surroundings. "We'll also need a light source; anything that could withstand these strong winds will do fine." By degrees, my eyes began to adjust to the perforated darkness. "Toph, come with me. We need to dig a wide trench around the base of the hill to stop the mudflow." I looked up warily at the overwhelming rush of earth that, by a miraculous stroke of luck, had been obstructed by a peculiar jut in the hill. "Quick! We must hurry before it begins to rain again." It was likely that when the storm had passed through earlier, it had forced the loose earth on the hillside, and this was the aftermath.

"Right," said Toph as we separated. "I'll start working my way from over this side."

"Be careful, Toph," I cautioned. "We're working blindly here." The words were out of my mouth before I'd realized my fatuous blunder. "Eh, sorry, Toph," I quickly apologized. "I didn't mean..."

"I know, I know," she said dismissively and hurriedly. "But, you're forgetting your earth-bending basics, Twinkle-toes; all we need to do is wait, listen and bend." I conceded her point. Even without closing my eyes, I could clearly perceive the earth's vibrations. Still, I was persuaded that I'd be more confident if we had a little light to ensure us against any undesirable surprises.

When we were twenty minutes into digging the trenches, and compressing the sludge and flow that had already descended, a faint drizzle began to fall. By now Toph and I were steadily growing closer as we bent in more rapid, powerful strokes.

"Aang, are you sure this won't overflow?" called Horonka, who was skeptically gazing up at several large boulders that were precariously inclined on the hill's slope. He had just returned on foot with several earth-benders, who carried a few poled-lanterns, which, by the way, couldn't serve us much. Earlier we had heard a few faint peels of the village's bell, which had, from time to time, swelled above the sonorous howling of the capricious, blustering winds.

Truthfully, I couldn't be sure if the trench would hold the avalanche; if this second onslaught of showers was as heavy as the first, I knew that we'd definitely be in trouble.

"Uh, I don't know about you guys, but I'd feel much better if we weren't standing in the direct reach of those awfully huge boulders," Horonka warned as he pointed them out.

"You and Toph take the others and go," I urged him. "I'll stay here to bend the earth deeper if it threatens to overflow."

"Whoa! Hold on there, buddy," resisted Toph. "I'm staying put. You'll need all the help that you can get from us."

While the other earthbenders took refuge some distance away, we stood around waiting anxiously as the formidable heavens expelled its fury. About ten minutes into this downpour, the calamitous rush of earth resumed and plunged into the wide trenches before quickly rising again. Immediately, Toph and I began, simultaneously, to bend the earth deeper to compact the debris downward.

"Ugh! The rain only makes this worse," Horonka groaned.

"I wish we had more time to dig a deeper, wider trench," said Toph, wistfully.

"I don't know," said Horonka, in a slow, contemplative voice. "Perhaps we can…"

His whole manner grew deeply reflective. "What?" Toph asked impatiently.

"I've never attempted this before, but, what if we could stop the rain to give you and the other Earthbenders enough time to dig the earth deeper?"

"Are you out of your mind?" Toph ridiculed.

"No…no…he does have a point, Toph," I said, directly seizing upon Horonka's idea; my mind had suddenly been illuminated with the possibility. "I don't know why I've never thought of this before."

"Eh, are you both out of your minds then?" asked Toph, in her sardonic glory.

"This just might work," Horonka exulted with an uncharacteristic grin upon his tanned face. "Toph, while Aang and I bend the rain, you and the other earthbenders begin bending as quickly as you can. I don't know how long we'll be able to prevent this rain."

Together, Horonka and I began to bend a redoubtable circle around the hill. This was an incredible feat indeed for the hill was almost as tall as Mount Makapu back in Aunt Wu's village. "Wait! Wait, you guys actually did it!" said Toph in an incredible show of disbelief.

"As Bumi says, Toph, we've got to keep our minds open to the possibilities," I heard Horonka tell her.

About fifteen minutes after this, Horonka was growing exhausted from sustaining his hold on our defense, and Toph and the other Earthbenders were still bending the earth deeper as the trench took in new mounds of dirt from the slide. "Take a break, Horonka," I encouraged. "I'll take it from here."

"No way!" said he, doubtfully.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply as I harnessed that dormant, prodigious power within me and I knew that my eyes and tattoos glowed for a moment before fading again. I asked everyone to step back before driving two powerful strokes into the pit to expand its width and depth on either side; after this, I surrendered the remnant of that work to Toph, and, with a circular motion of my extended arms, took hold of the water-girdle that Horonka and I had created.

Relieved, Horonka dropped his hands and began to stretch and rotate them in their sockets. "How's it coming, Toph?"

"I'll be done in a few minutes," said she exasperatedly as she forced the stubborn earth, debris and boulders further into the ditch. "Let's hope this'll work like a charm." When she had finished covering the distance of the trench, she defiantly said, "Okay, let's put this to the test." I released my hold on the water and it came splashing down upon us with a thud. "Ugh, thanks a lot, Twinkle-toes," she quipped as she spat water from her mouth.

"Sorry." It took a while for the landslide to begin again, and when it did, much to our chagrin, the trenches began to fill rapidly.

"Ugh," said Toph, throwing up her hands in acknowledged defeat. "Are we to do this all night?" With her fists clenched, her arms outstretched and raised to the sky, she frustratingly cried, as if to the Universe, "Would you give us a break just this once?"

"She's right, Aang," Horonka seconded. "We can't keep this up all night and hope to make it to her house before tomorrow evening."

"We can't abandon these people either," I solemnly entreated. "Have you forgotten what it's been like for them? They've been through so much already, and have lost so much; if…"

"Alright, alright," Toph grumbled. "We get it. Don't get all preachy like Katara."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I rejoined good-naturedly.

"Whatever!"

All of that night, we worked until the first glimpse of light peeped over the jagged hillsides and the rain, which seemed to take some kind of cruel, willful pleasure in thwarting us, finally ceased. As a precaution against another rainy day, when we went to the village, I advised its chieftain to consider building a temporary dam to safeguard their town until they were able to correct the problematic soil on the slope. We'd learned then that they had uprooted trees from the hill to rebuild homes, which had most probably left the soil vulnerable to erosion.

"Look at us," said Horonka, who was surveying the full length of his person in disgust. "We're wet, filthy, battered, tired, and hungry, among other things."

"Speak for yourself," said Toph, who carelessly plopped herself down upon the rim of a stone fountain, which was situated in the center of the town's square. "I'm just tired."

"Seriously, Toph, we need to get cleaned up," Horonka insisted. "We can't show up at your parents' place looking, and smelling, like vagabonds."

"Don't worry," I interjected, looking down at my robes, which were splattered with a healthy coating of mud, "we'll find some place to wash up."

"Ah, guys, about my parents, there's something that I forgot to mention," Toph slyly noted.

"Why do I already hate the sound of this?" asked Horonka, who folded his arms across his chest as he regarded Toph with a narrowed, suspicious glance.

I didn't like the sound of it either and where it might lead. "What is it Toph?" I hesitantly asked.

"Well, about Earthrumble Eleven, my parents don't actually know anything about it and I'd like to keep it that way," she sheepishly explained.

Horonka and I exchanged a cautious glance. "Toph, we've been down this road before," I reasoned. "I don't want to go there again."

"You don't understand," said she testily. "If my parents knew about it, they'd never let me enter the tournament."

"Don't look at me," said Horonka, when I glanced at him, silently appealing for his help. "I never wanted to leave Ember Island, remember."

"I don't know Toph," I honestly admitted. "I dislike the idea of deceiving your parents. We have a really good team here and I'd hate to see it break up." Here, the village chieftain had returned to offer us a place to clean up and rest before continuing our journey. "We'll talk about this later," I whispered to Toph before falling into step with the chieftain.

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Next chapter: Katara, and the rest of the gAang (including Ty Lee and Kyoshi Warriors); Aang, Toph and Horonka have a chat with the Bei Fongs and eventually returns to Ember Island.


	3. Face To Face

I just found out that the musical piece that was playing in the final scene in the episode Avatar Aang, with Aang and Katara, is entitled, "The Avatar's Love." How sweet is that?

Sorry for the long chapter. I wanted to get in as much of Aang, Horonka and Toph as possible**. **Now I'm tired.

**--**

**Aang's Narrative**

By late afternoon, we had made it to the Bei Fong's estate. The debate was still on between Toph and me regarding her intention to withhold the news of Earth Rumble from her parents. I should mention here that there were few things to which I strongly objected, especially where she was concerned, and this was one of them. Considering my past break with her parents, and how difficult it had been to regain their trust, I was unwilling to be a deliberate partner in her scheme. It also didn't help that Horonka, who had occasion several times in the past to influence her to the right course, was persisting in his part as a disinterested observer; at the very least, I'd been counting on the weight of his support to ease Toph into submission.

"Well, Toph, have you already told them?" I asked her as soon as we met in the wide, oval hallway that led to the room where we were to present ourselves for tea with her parents.

"Shush it, will you!" cried she, fearfully, in a suppressed voice.

"I'll take that as a no, then," I whispered reproachfully.

When we were gathered before her parents, by Lady Bei Fong's particular request, we began to regale them with stories of our recent adventures in the Earth Kingdom, purposely neglecting to mention our more risky mission to the Fire Nation. Throughout the whole of our discourse, I tried to stir Toph to confession by dropping faint hints here and there, but, all in vain; she'd remained resolutely heedless to my prompts.

"Avatar Aang," said Lady Bei Fong, after taking a sip of tea from her porcelain cup, "how much longer do you think it will be before the refugees are re-established in their land?"

"Your guess is as good as mines, Lady Bei Fong," I rejoined, matter-of-factly. "There are still many who are torn between their earnest desire to stay in Ba Sing Se and their fervent wish to return to their homes, not really knowing what awaits them there. I've seen the damage rendered to some of these villages by the Fire Nation's soldiers, and in some cases, everything was destroyed; there was no other way forward for these refugees but to begin anew."

"What! Everything?" exclaimed Lady Bei Fong; an appalled expression marked her matronly visage as she gently covered her lips with her small, delicate hand. "Oh my!" She carefully placed her tea aside and graciously clasped her hands in her lap. "How horribly savage!"

I smiled subtly to myself. I found Lady Bei Fong's empathy for the refugee crisis a pleasant surprise. I hadn't anticipated that her memories of the refugees' blight, which she had expounded upon during the preface to our conversation, would've accompanied her back from the magnificent walls of Ba Sing Se to the splendid halls of her estate, where it was so easy to dismiss the troubles of others amidst the blissful diversions of her privileged life. My respect for her had grown tenfold with this recent intimation, and solidified by the help that she'd pledged on behalf of herself and her socialite friends. "You can be proud, Lady Bei Fong," I lauded. "The people of the Earth Kingdom are resilient. They've proven repeatedly that they can rise above any misfortune, and rally against any disillusionment, and through courage and perseverance united, triumph."

"No doubt this spirit is commendable," observed Lord Bei Fong. "I imagine that it doesn't always happen that way, Avatar Aang." I confirmed his point. "I hope that those who linger in Ba Sing Se will also have the presence of mind to recognize that there's no real advantage to gain by continuing there, unless, of course, they have some kind of means." With a barely noticeable wave of his hand, he tacitly instructed the attendants to come forward to clear away our tea things. "So, Avatar Aang, if I recollect correctly, the time is drawing nigh when you must lose one of the members of your team."

"Sir?" I asked, immediately thinking of Toph.

"Prince Horonka, it was, I believe, in our last meeting, who spoke of returning to his family before the year is up," Lord Bei Fong volunteered.

It was obvious to me that we'd caught Horonka off his guard and in one of those rare moments of introspection, whilst in company. I could tell that he hadn't a clue about what he should be answering to; I decided to help him along. "Well, Horonka, is it true that you'll be leaving us soon?" He stared at me intently, silently communicating that he still didn't understand. "Your uncle, I assume expects you back," I added with a complementary nod of my head.

"Oh!" he answered, livening up. "No, no. I'm sure he can do without me for some time to come." He turned specifically to Lord Bei Fong, "You see, Sir, I'm the last in the line of heirs to the Chiefdom. There's my eldest brother and three other brothers who are preferred before me. As I have no pressing duty that demands my return to the North Pole, it's seems fit to me that I should spend my days being useful to others."

Presently, the call for dinner was announced, and we removed to the dining room. I'd been seeking the opportunity to speak with Toph privately, but Lady Bei Fong clung doggedly to my side, engaging me in talk of our plans for the evening. Not long after we were seated, I was able to understand why. She rapturously informed us of the delight we were destined for that evening; she had persuaded Lord Bei Fong to purchase five tickets to the Earth Kingdom's most acclaimed visiting symphony. I think Toph, who was seated across from me and beside Horonka, almost choked on her soup when her mother enlightened us with this bit of news.

"What is it, Toph?" Lady Bei Fong asked in maternal solicitude. "Are you alright?"

Patting her lips with her napkin, she told her mother: "We sort of had plans already for the evening."

"Really! What plans?" Lady Bei Fong pursued; an injured expression dampened her previously cheerful demeanor.

The silence that succeeded this inquiry hung palpably in the air. "Well, Toph," said Lord Bei Fong, at length, "what could possibly be more important than pleasing your mother? She went through a lot of trouble to get these tickets on short notice."

"I'm sorry, Mom," apologized Toph; she pressed her lips together; her light green eyes were downcast. I sensed if somebody didn't talk right then, I'd be unable to digest the dumpling that I'd just eaten. I saw Horonka furtively whisper something to her through his closed lips; I saw her breathe deeply before blurting out the truth, in its entirety, -pre-meditated filial disobedience and all, which I thought could've been left unsaid, unless, of course, her conscience was really pricking her- to her awe-struck parents. With this virtual shocker, my appetite was temporarily hijacked pending a peaceful conclusion.

I saw a look of disapproval settle upon Lord Bei Fong's face. At first I thought that he'd be cross, but I'd say he strayed more on the side of disappointment. "You were going to enter this…this…this brawling tournament…of…uncouth characters without telling us?" He leaned forward with his elbow on the table and began to stroke his right temple. "I'm disappointed, Toph. We trusted you for a second time, and you were willing to violate…destroy that trust for something that you knew that I was adamantly against. Apparently you do not value our trust as much as you did a year ago."

Toph, who was hanging her head ashamedly, sat immovable. I felt sorry for her.

"I believe, Sir, that you'll be interested to know that the Earth King will be attending this evening's tournament," revealed Horonka, whose speech was augmented by the reawakened dignity of his royal bearing. Upon hearing this, Lord Bei Fong's eyes partly widened. "Have a look," beseeched Horonka as he slipped a paper from the folds of his garment and handed it to Toph's father.

Lord Bei Fong took the paper reluctantly and began to peruse its content before folding it again and returning it to Horonka. "I think, Sir, that the character of this tournament may have improved since you last heard of it. I can't imagine that the Earth King, who has shown himself fastidious in the minutest things, would ally himself with an event of a contemptible reputation. Bending has always been, in essence, about the celebrated art and culture of our civilizations. How ever other men may have perverted it, we must look beyond that. A little spirited competition every so often is good; it's a fair way to help us gauge the superiority of our skill, the merits of our wit, and may even temper or knock down any false pride that we may have." He picked up his chopsticks and began to stir his noodle soup. "Of course, I say all this respectfully, Sir."

Lord Bei Fong had listened to Horonka with a variable countenance. "Very well then," said he contemplatively. "Though I'm still displeased with Toph," he stared at his daughter, "I shall consider what you've said."

When Horonka and I had retired to our shared chamber, I left him alone to attend to Appa. By the time I returned, he'd been joined by Toph; they were lounging on a comfortable settee in the center of the room. "So that's where you disappeared to earlier," I told him. "You went into town."

"Not exactly," said Horonka. "I saw a guy just beyond the gate who was distributing fliers and heralding the Earth King's patronage of this evening's tournament. I'm glad I had the forethought to take one just in case things blew up in our faces."

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" demanded Toph.

"What! And miss watching you squirm," Horonka flatly stated. "I still say that you should've fess up long before we left the Fire Nation. In my book, Toph, you were being selfish. You weren't thinking of our team."

Well, that certainly cleared things up in my mind.

"Look, I don't have time for this right now," Toph argued.

"Oh really! When would be the best time, Toph?" countered Horonka in his usual grave air.

"Guys, could you please keep your voices down," I admonished.

"Tell that to Mr. Wonderful, here," mocked Toph.

Horonka had gotten up and turned away. I saw his jaw tense. "You're right," said he swinging sharply around. "This really is none of my business. I think I'll take a walk in the gardens." Before he was halfway out of the door, he was intercepted by a servant who had come to fetch us.

We were ushered into one of several special balconies that boasted a superior view of the ring. I had to believe that they were recently constructed because I couldn't recall seeing them during my past visit. The balconies were animated with lively conversations amongst the many guests, of important statuses, which were congregated there, as they greeted one another, including the Bei Fongs, with familiar intimacy. A handful of top ranking military officers were sprinkled amongst their numbers, including two of the generals, whom I knew from the Council of Five in Ba Sing Se. The Earth King was the last to join our company before the commencement of the tournament was proclaimed.

I'll tell you one thing I began to ponder at the beginning of the games. Where was Xin Fu? A while back I'd heard a rumor of his and Master Yu's embarrassing discovery, but I hadn't heard anything else since. No matter. This present promoter, in my view, seemed more charismatic, actually, _was_ more charismatic, and was reputed to hold a genuine interest in the tournament not solely for monetary gain, but for the sake of the art and entertainment it represented. The prevalent speculation that evening, at least in the balconies anyway, had him valorously attempting to erase the tournament's notorious stain in an effort to raise it to an eminent place of worldwide renown.

And hilarity ensues. I'd forgotten how amusing it had been to listen to the competitors' ridiculous brags. I'd even espied Horonka laughing several times throughout the dares and taunts that preceded the physical showdowns. Yeah, even Toph had participated in her fair share of braggadocious talk, which, quite frankly, had my sides in a stitch. And, if the pulsation of the teeming stadium gave any indication of the success of this event, I'd say that Earth Rumble XI had quite marvelously attained to its crown.

"Oh!" exclaimed Lady Bei Fong, who was half shading her eyes with her handkerchief. "So violent!" She appeared to be wavering between genuine repulsion and rising fascination. Since she was seated beside me, I'd been privy to these kinds of ejaculations all evening.

Through collective hassles, cheers, and groans, we watched each successive match until Toph was left standing. She'd now have to challenge The Boulder, -yes, I know; I can't believe he's still around- who was the current defending champion, after Toph, through non-participation, was forced to relinquish the belt some four years ago.

"I'd no idea that she was _this _amazing," praised Horonka, who had come around to chat with the Earth King and me. He'd been sitting with Lord Bei Fong through most of the matches.

"You should tell her after she wins," I suggested. He seemed truly impressed.

"I'll think about it," he returned. "Besides, _I know _she already knows how awesome she is."

"Still, I think it would make a difference coming from you."

He looked dubiously at me. "What're you saying, Aang?"

"Nothing, I swear," I replied truthfully and somewhat puzzled. I had the sneaky feeling that my words were being taken in a way that I didn't intend.

Although he didn't seem absolutely convinced, he didn't pursue it any further. The final match began shortly after this and he left me to return to his seat.

There's not much to tell after this. As we all figured, Toph reclaimed her title as Earth Rumble's youngest reigning champion. I should mention though that I discovered that the Earth King's presence at the tournament had much to do with his desire to obtain a master for a new elite team of earth-benders; he intended to resurrect the Dai Li, only this time, they would answer only to him. Sadly for him, he was irresolutely decided upon Toph. As I was thoroughly acquainted with her bold opinions on the subject of Ba Sing Se and its political structure, I'd say he had a non-existent chance of persuading her to take this position.

We spent another day with the Bei Fongs, and were able to get back into Lady Bei Fong's good graces, by putting her tickets for the symphony to very good use. At first light of the next morning, we were prepared to return to the Fire Nation. As the ones who'd recently apprehended one of the Fire Nation's most infamous war criminal, we were expected to appear before a tribunal in the upcoming days. The sooner we could get that accomplished, the more quickly we could return to our work in the Earth Kingdom.

"You're unbelievable!" declared Horonka, half smiling. He was talking to Toph, who had her newly acquired trophy exhibited around her waist. "Talk about a big head."

"Hey, I haven't had this baby in four long years," she replied, patting it affectionately.

We said our farewells to the Bei Fongs and promised that we'd visit soon. We traveled for the better part of that day, before arriving on the outskirts of Ember Island around late afternoon. While flying over the gently sloped knolls that comprised the backdrop of Fire Lord Zuko's newly renovated and expanded beach house, I descried several people on the private beach playing a game of volley ball; because of our route, they appeared vaguely small to my eyesight. When we'd entered the immediate vicinity of the beach house, I carefully guided Appa over the burnt red roof and down unto the cobble-stoned courtyard.

"I don't know about you guys, but as soon as I'm done unpacking, I'm heading directly to the beach," Horonka informed us, as he tossed our stuff down to me. "A few laps in the sea should ease my limbs. Flying without a break since dawn has left me feeling sore."

I've got to admit that his plan appealed to me; only, as soon as I saw one of the servants hastily emerge from the front double doors and descended the steps, I instantly divined that I'd have to kiss that idea goodbye. "Avatar Aang, the Fire Lord has bidden us to request that you join him as soon as you arrive."

--

**Katara's Narrative**

Ugh! I can't believe that we're losing to the Kyoshi girls. With Ty Lee on our side, I'd been certain that our victory was sealed. "Hey, watch it will you!" I warned one of the Kyoshi girls. The ball had already slammed my finger before, almost breaking it. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating…_a little_. I don't get it. I've been feeling restless ever since I arrived three days ago. The thing is, everybody else seemed to be enjoying themselves. Uh, what was wrong with me? I know; maybe it's because I'd expected too much from this reunion and it just wasn't turning out to be like I'd imagined. Still, that shouldn't give me an excuse to dump on everyone. Face it, Katara, Sokka was right. I'd been acting downright weird ever since I got here.

A heavy growl punctuated the harmonious collaboration between the sea-gulls' chorus and the lapping, gentle waves, as our eyes were drawn to the grassy knolls that outlined the northern vista. A large bison came directly into our view as he made his way close by the hills and began to descend. "Appa!" I cried, ecstatically. At last, they were here.

Our game continued for another fifteen minutes until I was forced to call a break to review our strategy. "Time out, everyone." I wasn't concentrating enough on the game; my mind was too distracted.

"Katara, what're you doing?" Haru asked.

"Yeah, I thought we were doing fine," Ty Lee added.

"We're tied with them," I said stubbornly. "Another slam like that last one and they'll win."

"Hmmm! I do like winning," said Ty Lee, "but it's just a game."

"Yeah, I'm with Ty Lee," said Haru. "Katara, if we lose today we'll still have a chance to beat them tomorrow."

"Okay, fair enough," I said relenting, in an attempt to save face. I shouldn't have gotten worked up about this when, clearly, they weren't.

"Hey, who are those people?" I heard Ty Lee ask.

I turned to see two lonely figures advancing in our direction. I shaded the western sun from my eyes as I glared out into the distance. "It's Toph!" I said, partly running to meet her. I'd know that walk and mannerism anywhere.

When I was almost upon her, I'd noticed that the other person was a stranger; he was tall and dark-complexioned, like Sokka and me. "He must be Water Tribe," I wondered aloud to myself. But who was he? "Toph, it's great to see you," I told her as I hugged her warmly. She'd changed. Her hair was very long; it fell to her waist; but, as usual, her bangs were sorely in need of a trim. She introduced me to her friend, whose name, I learned, was Horonka. When I heard of his lineage, I was surprised that I had never met him before. Then again, I hadn't met Chief Arnook's extended family. This guy, Horonka, possessed a very handsome face and was perhaps around Toph's age, or maybe my age, but no older.

"Hello Momo," I said, fondly greeting the lemur, who was perched on Horonka's right shoulder. I stroked his head and he began to chatter and gesticulate belligerently as though he had a charge against me. And, to add insult to injury, he scampered atop Horonka's head and descended to sit on his other shoulder, away from me. I wasn't sure whether I should be offended or not.

"Come on, Momo," Horonka entreated, "don't you remember her?"

It's weird to acknowledge, but Momo's reaction really hurt me. He probably thought that I'd abandoned him; but, seriously, was he holding his forgiveness ransom? Very well; I figured I'd play along. "Here, Momo," I said, pulling some nuts from my pocket and holding them out to him. "I remember how much you liked these." Sure enough, he sprang forward, grabbed the nuts from my palm and resumed his position on Horonka's shoulder.

Horonka must have seen how this affected me, because he said, "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll come around. He probably just needs to get used to you again." He took off then to continue his stroll down the beach.

"Well, Toph," I said, now turning my undivided attention to her, "What's going on? Where's Aang?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. When we arrived, Zuko sent for him."

"Oh!" I said, feeling a pang of regret. "Well, I guess I'll see him later."

"I guess," replied Toph flippantly as she followed me to the spot where the girls and I had our towels spread on the sand.

"You haven't changed a bit, Toph," I told her, shaking my head. Actually, that was half of a lie. Besides being my height, lean and toned, she had grown prettier. But in attitude, she seemed unchanged, except maybe if she'd grown more candid, and, oh, more sarcastic. I suppose I'll find that out in good time.

"Why would I?" said she, slumping down on her beach towel and cradling her hands behind her head.

My attention was drawn to Ty Lee, who was running up the beach towards us, before she skid on her knees in the sand to stop before us. "Who's that guy?" asked she breathlessly. .

"What guy?" I asked, inattentively.

"That guy who came down the beach with Toph," she replied, dreamily. "He's perfect!"

"Say what now?" said Toph, bolting upright from her prostration.

"Horonka?" I asked Ty Lee.

"Come again!" said Toph in utter bewilderment. "You've got to be joking."

I admit I looked at her strangely.

"Hey, Toph, will you introduce us to him tonight?" Ty lee begged. "The girls and I would love to meet him."

"Ah…sure thing," Toph replied distractedly. After Ty Lee was gone, she solemnly asked, "Katara, is it really true?"

"What?"

"What Ty Lee said?"

"Yes, but what does it matter? It's the measure of the heart that really counts."

Toph was broodingly silent before eventually saying, "Yes, I suppose so."

"So, Toph, what've you guys been up to lately?" I asked airily, pretending not to care too much about her answer. She eased back into her sprawled position, with her face towards the sky, and her head resting on her hands. Indeed, I was reminded of the same old Toph, who felt free to do as she pleased, not caring what others thought of her. I confess that it's the thing that I admire most about her.

When she'd finished recounting several of their more adventurous journeys, I felt oddly estranged and separated from their lives. "So, where are Sokka and Suki?" I heard her ask.

"Shopping," I told her.

"Oh brother! Some things never change, do they?"

"True," I muttered to myself, "I'm depending on that."

**--**

**Aang's Narrative**

It's not that I'm averse to difficult situations; I just preferred it when things went smoothly. This was the common train of my thought as I stood before one of the wide, glass windows in Fire Lord Zuko's living room. I was perhaps the first of the guests to be ready before we gathered for dinner. The others, I was told, had just lately returned from the beach.

I sighed as I rested my palms on the windowsill and peered out into the mellow horizon, where the edge of the far reaching sea was kissed by the last vestiges of the fading sunlight. I rubbed my forehead wearily. My perturbation on this occasion was considerably great and instigated by no small matter. The Fire Lord's council had recently delivered judgment in a case involving a war criminal, which ruled that along with incarceration, the penitent was to be deprived of his bending. This was never an easy decision for me. Over the years, I'd manage to avoid this method altogether and have not done it since my battle with Ozai. Even the Dai Li, who was, in my opinion, on a level of villainy with many of these Fire Nation war criminals, had managed to escape this strident measure.

"Aang?" I gave a start; it was her; the sound of her voice had summarily plunged me back into the fabric of our past. I turned slowly to face her, and was stunned by the ideal picture of loveliness personified before me; if ever there was anything lovelier in the whole history of the world, I couldn't fathom it; here, stood hallowed beauty, in its fairest and unadulterated form. Her long, thick, brown locks fell unfettered around her, mantling her person. She was smiling tenderly at me, as if time and distance had never separated us. "Aang," said she, more urgently, as I drew close to her and gathered her in my arms and close to my heart.

When we broke our embrace, the living memory of the dearth of my happiness was revived. I fought this unhappy feeling by first complimenting her on her appearance and inviting her to tell me of all that had happened since our last parting. I'd surreptitiously noticed, with significant relief -though I don't know why I flatter myself with even a fool's hope- that she was wearing the betrothal necklace that had once been her mother's. As she spoke, and the recollection of my past wishes flooded my mind, I felt strongly the impotence of my strength against her fair charm. Indeed, I'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb**(1)** not to realize that I was falling for her all over again. The love for her that I kept bounded in the deep recesses of my heart was awoken. I learned this new lesson: _there were some things that were stronger than my will...stronger than me, and this was one of them._ I surrendered to it, and yet, I was persuaded that the breadth, the depth, the height of it all, would consume me.

From what I heard of her account, -I'd been constantly vacillating between lucidity and daydream- I learned that Master Pakku and the other water-benders, who had migrated from the Northern Water Tribe, had achieved something marvelous in building up the Southern Water Tribe. Instinctively, I knew that she also had a hand in it, but was never the kind to sing her own praises. "If ever I'm to visit again," I said, rising from where we were seated, mostly from my desire to weaken the hold that she presently held over me, I went to the window, "I don't believe I'll recognize the place then."

She grew silent. I turned questioningly to her and she rose from the red, velvet chair and came to stand immediately before me. "Why didn't you ever come to see me?" asked she in a quiet, accusatory tone. "Why?" Her dark, beautiful face was upturned and her blue, glistening eyes were aflame with emotion; I could hardly withstand the accusation…the condemnation…the hurt that I saw there. My eyes fell momentarily before rising again to meet hers. How could I re-assure her that it was never my intention when my wounded conscience bore witness to the truth of her accusation? I'd really stayed away on purpose, whether I was conscious of it or not. In that single moment of truth, I realized that I'd forfeited the _right_ to her trust. It was apparent to me that she'd trusted and believed that I would've come, and for the first time since I'd built up that wall, my resolve was shaken. Seeing her distress, I could no longer feel justified by my past decision.

My hands, which were clenched at my side, yearned to reach up and smooth away her sorrow, but I struggled against this impulse; when I could resist it no longer, I gently brought my knuckles to tenderly trace her fine cheekbone. At my touch, she had closed her eyes, and a tear had swiftly fallen.

"Aang!" The spell was broken by that ever-intrusive voice, which I knew so well, and the moment was lost to us…_forever_. It was Sokka. He was standing in the doorway with his mouth agape, with Suki a little behind in the lengthening shadow that was cast upon the walls. "What've you been eating?"

I glanced remorsefully at Katara, who had turned away to compose herself. "Sokka," I said, assuming a cheerful air.

* * *

**(1)**Figuratively – insentient

Well, how about that! Momo is mad with Katara. Lulz! Actually, I find from watching the series that Katara and Momo have a close bond, especially in Season 2. So, I guess Momo is justified in holding a grudge against her.

Okay, hopefully my Aang and Katara reunion wasn't cheesy. I'm really trying not to make them come off that way. I'm really impressed with the purity and constancy of their relationship (friends and/or lovers) that I'm trying to keep up with their standard.

Next chapter: Aang and Horonka have a heart to heart. Toph makes an unusual request of Katara.


	4. Confessions

**Aang's Narrative**

Dawn. It was one of my favorite times of the day, when the world was shaking off the withering lassitude of its nocturnal repose and awakening to the spring of a new day. We'd been back in Ember Island for several days now and today marked the eve of Zuko's banquet. Several of our friends, including Teo, Duke, Smellerbee, Longshot, and Pipsqueak, had arrived a day after our return from the Bei Fongs. It had generally been good times since then, for it was rare for so many of us to be gathered in one place, and particularly so for the pursuit of pleasure.

With a full house, and barely any chance for solitude, it'd become a habit of mine to slip away to the beach before most was up. Today, I'd risen ere the first hint of light was scarcely noticeable over the hills that outlined the eastern panorama. I liked to walk along the beach until I came to an inlet, where a clear stream ebbed from the hidden foliage of the surrounding knolls to meet the sea; I'd cross here until I came to the other side, where I'd sit and allow the gentle, lulling melody of the waves to transport me, mentally, from the cares of this world to the peaceful center of my spirituality.

"Hey!"

I slowly opened my eyes to find Horonka wading through the shallow waters of the inlet to emerge where I was sitting, cross-legged upon the sand. "Hey."

"Do you mind?" he asked, before copping a squat on the sand. "So, what's been going on with you? You seem a bit," he examined my face carefully, "a bit aloof, lately…not yourself."

"I just have a lot on my mind right now," I told him, as I watched a lonely seagull swoop down from its stealthy reconnaissance of the sea to seize its prey. "That's all."

"I see," he said, at length. "Has this anything to do with your friend from the Water Tribe?" I anxiously glanced at him. I'd been very careful, these past few days, to keep my emotions in check. "Don't look at me as though I've unearthed some deep, dark secret? It's pretty clear, to me at least, that you admire her a great deal. I've never seen you look at another in _that_ way." When I didn't answer, and if reading my thoughts, he gravely added, in his usual phlegmatic way, "Don't worry; being more familiar with you as you are now, better than they, I think I can safely say that I have something of an advantage." I followed his gaze o'er the far stretching, undulating sea. "I assure you, your secret is safe with me." I didn't doubt that. "Listen Aang, I don't mean to pry, and you can certainly tell me to mind my own business, but I get the impression that there's a lot of history here."

I wasn't sure if I was ready to part with my secret; for so long now I'd borne it; for so long now I'd guarded it; for so long now I'd endured it, all on my own. I also had this notion, however ridiculous it might seem, that once it stayed within my breast, untainted by open scrutiny, it would somehow remain sacred to me.

"You know, I've never told you this before," I heard Horonka saying, "but there's someone special that I left behind in the North Pole. Before I left, I'd even planned on giving her that betrothal necklace that I made; you remember the one?" I did. "Oddly, something held me back. It wasn't that I had any reservations about my regard for her. I'd known her long enough to be comfortable with my own feelings." His eyes were downcast and his brow furrowed. "I don't know; perhaps, in the end, I felt that it would be unfair to have her wait for me until I returned. I mean, wouldn't it be something if after all this time I've been away, I return home to find her more faithful and committed to me than ever before? I would've proven her to find that her heart is worth more than gold." He picked up a pebble and began to smooth it between his index and thumb fingers. "The problem is, more and more I find myself thinking less of her and distracted by another," he declared with a fleeting wonder.

"Almost from the beginning, I've loved Katara," I heard myself divulging. "I've loved her unlike I've loved any other in this present world." Once I'd admitted that aloud, I found that it was easy for me to continue; I began to recount our history, as objectively as I could, from her finding me in the iceberg to the time of our last parting. When I had finished, Horonka and I sat silently for a time, absorbed in our own thoughts.

"What are you going to do?" asked Horonka, eventually. "I mean, it's obvious that you still love her."

"What can I do?" I replied, dejectedly. "I can't make her love me, and I certainly won't try." I scooped up the grey sand and sifted it through my fingers. "The best I can do is hope that one day I'll ultimately conquer this feeling."

Horonka shook his head. "Aang, I've seen the way she looks at you. Are you sure she doesn't feel the same way?"

"It means nothing," I told him, I confess, with a reminiscent touch of sadness. Hadn't I learnt the same thing in this very place five years before?

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," he submitted. I'd spared nothing in the tale of our story; he knew it all. "I guess in your place, I would've been baffled too; so much for actions speaking louder than words." He shrugged. "But seriously, do you really think that she thinks of you as a…a brother?" he said with a perplexed expression. "Man, that's tough."

"Yeah, I know," I said. "But, it was my fault to have expected any more from her than she was willing to give. I bear the blame." I rubbed my palms together to brush off the sand. "Oh, the wisdom of hindsight; I'm glad, at least, that we're still friends."

"Girls," said Horonka, shaking his head, "I don't imagine that we'll ever understand them."

"So, who's this girl that you were referring to earlier? You know…the one who has you distracted."

"Whom do you think?" asked he, evasively.

"You can't mean…," I said thoughtfully, after deliberating for a time, "…do you mean?" My eyes widened and he shook his head. I couldn't help smiling. "Who would've thought that…," I said, vacillating between wonder and disbelief, "yes?"

He nodded. "I know," said he. "I astonish myself."

"Are you sure about this?" I asked, feeling a little stupid after I'd spoken these words. Since when had he ever been unsure about anything, especially regarding his own sentiments? I'd always known him to be confident in his opinions.

He didn't immediately answer, however. "I've been wrestling with this for some time now. I think I can safely say that it's certain...that it's real." He shook his head. "Whether it will work and whether she'll return my feelings, I don't know. But really, she's such a spoilt brat."

"Ah, come on, she's not that bad." He looked at me with a raised brow. "Okay, maybe she is to some extent, but she's one of your best friends; that has to mean something."

"Well, yeah, I'll acknowledge that," he said, "but we argue so much. Can you imagine what it would be like for me to spend the rest of my life with someone like her? I'd have no peace. It's probably better that we remain as we are and nothing more."

"If you ask me, I think you're exaggerating her, -how should I put it- her fire," I countered. "Man, we've got to stop falling for our friends," I grinned.

"Oh, you think it's funny?" I chuckled. "In any case, I think we're getting ahead of ourselves. Who knows, maybe she might not even like me in," he looked at me, "_that_ way."

"What about your friend back home?"

He picked up a small stone, aimed it, and then threw it into the sea where it bounced upon the water three times before it vanished with the tide. "I'm not sure. I haven't entirely figured that one out." He rose and brushed his shorts free of sand. "I didn't promise her anything, though, I suppose, it doesn't exonerate me from any guilt for my part in inspiring her to love me, which, I believe she does."

"So, how come I've never met her?" I asked in my curiosity.

"You did," he replied. "Only, you most likely wouldn't remember it since my uncle had you wrapped up in his political talk.

"And afterward?"

"Bad timing?"

"Oh, I see; it was fated that we should never meet," I chortled, as I picked up my glider and tossed it into the air. Horonka wasted little time in diving into the sea before I'd grabbed a hold of my glider and began to air-bend the currents around its wings. Carefully, I swung atop the slender stem and began to air surf. Below, I could see Horonka surfing on the waves as he water-bended them higher.

"Need some help?" I yelled.

"Don't get cocky now?" he shouted.

I laughed. "To the cliffs?" I challenged.

"You're on," he cried, as I began to bend the air currents more aggressively around my glider.

--

**Katara's narrative**

I'd awoken to several firm knocks on the door of my bedchamber. "Who is it?" I asked as I slipped from the covers and swung my feet to the floor.

"It's me," the voice beyond the door answered.

I drew my robe around my nightgown and went to the door. "Hey Toph," I said, leaning on the door and shading my eyes from the brightness that flowed into the room.

"Jeez! Did you plan on getting up today?"

"Well, I'm up aren't I?" I said disagreeably.

"It looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," Toph flatly observed, as she entered, without invitation, into the room.

"No, I'm just tired," I replied, mildly indignant, as I closed the door behind me.

"Well, it's already past noon," she informed me, as she plopped down into the lounge chair, which was adjacent to the bed, and proceeded to stretch her feet across its length.

"What! You can't be serious," I said, striding to the windows to pull open the red drapes to reveal an iridescent sun at its zenith.

"Trouble sleeping again?" Toph smugly asked, as she relaxed her head on the arm of the chair.

"Uh, Toph, why exactly are you here?" I patiently asked; seriously, she was getting on my nerves, and that in itself was a bad sign. It's like she took some kind of perverse pleasure in taunting me.

"Okay, here's the deal," said she, springing upright. "I wanted to ask you a favor."

"Yes?" I pressed, after she appeared reluctant.

"About Zuko's banquet tomorrow, I wanted you to help me choose something to wear." Was she actually fidgeting? "I mean, I have two dresses that I brought from home, but you know…I just…I don't know, I just want to look like everyone else does tomorrow."

"Well," I said, softening, knowing the courage it must have cost her to make this request, "Tell you what, Toph, as soon as I'm finished getting ready, I'll come around to your room to have a look at your dresses."

"Really! Thanks a lot, Sweetness!" She headed for the door but stopped short of it. "Hey, why were you up pacing last night?"

"H...how did…," I began to asked, "…never mind. Shut the door behind you."

We ended up having to go shopping, which turned out to be fun; it also helped me to get my mind off my own self and do a good deed for a dear friend.

"Must I really?" asked Toph, worriedly; her demeanor magnified her blatant distrust. We'd returned to the beach house around late afternoon, and I was looking over the stuff that we'd purchased for ourselves.

"Yes."

"Are you sure it'll look good?" she asked, skeptically.

"I promise."

"But I'm so used to them covering my eyes," complained Toph.

"Okay, this is what we'll do," I consoled. "Sleep on it tonight; if tomorrow you're still uncomfortable with the idea, we'll leave it alone. I just thought a slight, even trim would be nice. It's your decision, Toph. I won't pressure you."

"Thanks, Katara."

"I don't think I've ever seen you get this worked up about your appearance before. I have to confess that I was kind of astonished by your request. Not to say that there's anything wrong with you wanting to look nice, though. I think it's great that you show an interest."

"What, are you like my mother again?"

"You don't have to get so touchy about it," I calmly replied; she was really testing my patience. "I didn't mean it in a condescending way, if that's what you're implying." I picked up my stuff off of her chair. "I'm going to put these away. Are you coming down to the beach with me?"

"No, I don't feel like it right now," she said dismissively. "Maybe later."

Ugh, that Toph. She had an insane knack for driving me up the wall. The thing is, every time I felt that our friendship was getting better, something like this almost always happened to keep that thought in check. Okay, I really needed to calm down. I thought of joining Mai and Suki, who were out on the porch playing a game of Pai Sho, but quickly abandoned that idea. At the moment, a walk seemed more appealing; I needed to clear my head. From the window, the long stretch of beach offered an enticing prospect, and in fifteen minutes, I was soaking my feet in the cool, blue waters of the bay.

I was walking aimlessly, distracted by my thoughts, when I realized that I was standing immediately before the pier. I looked up, and with my hand deterring the sun's rays from impairing my view, I perceived a lonely figure sitting at the sea-ward edge of the pier. It was Aang. For a couple seconds, I hesitated, arrested in indecision, before resolving to climb the small, sandy incline to the wooden pier. He must've had a lot on his mind, because he wasn't aware of my approach until I was standing beside him.

"Katara!"

Maybe it was my imagination, but when he'd turned to look up at me, I swore I saw a faint frown on his face. For a moment or so, I stood uncomfortably before decidedly shaking off my pride, which was urging me to make an excuse to leave because of his lukewarm reception. Fortunately, my better sense prevailed. "May I?" I asked.

"Sure," he said, and scooted over to make room for me where he was sitting on the pier's edge with his feet dangling in the water. "I heard that you and Toph went shopping; did you guys find what you needed?"

"Yeah." I looked at him. "Why are you smiling?"

"Oh, nothing," said he, obviously still amused. "I can't believe it's been a week already. Before we realize it, we'll be…well, no matter."

"You meant we'll be separating soon," I partly whispered. I felt his eyes upon me, but he didn't speak. "I've missed you, Aang." I caught his grey eyes. "I miss my best friend." My eyes fell. "We've hardly had a moment to speak…alone."

"I know," he replied, quietly and somberly. "But we're here now."

"Yes," I agreed, smiling slowly, "we are." I was reminded of the old Aang, which over these past few days, I rarely saw. "So what did you do today? Is your business with Zuko finished?"

"Not quite," he solemnly answered.

"Want to talk about it?"

"If you don't mind, I think I'll pass."

I did. Once upon a time, with a little prodding, I used to be able to get him to open up. Now, with him so changed, I couldn't flatter myself that I had the same influence. From all that I'd heard and all that I'd seen for my own self, in his own right, he'd become an admirable leader. Moreover, I'd heard the report of his diplomatic success with the nations, and the respect that he'd earned through his sound decisions. Through compassion and grace, he'd won the hearts of the peoples; through reason and perseverance, he'd earned the esteem of their leaders; through commitment and loyalty, he'd rallied the efforts of his team. "That bad?"

"It could be worse, I guess," was all he'd say.

"What happened to us, Aang? Everything is so different."

He looked down at me. "I'd hardly expect us to be the same, Katara. Four years is a long time. You've grown and changed, and so have I."

"Yes, I know, but I guess I've always assumed that our friendship would remain the same."

"But it hasn't changed, Katara," he insisted. "Believe me when I say that my regard…my esteem…for you, as my best friend, is unchanged. You've been so much to me and still more." A grave expression blanketed his face. "Nothing or no one can change that."

With this admission, my heart had quickened. In truth, I'd been wondering, for some time now, about his feelings toward me. Had they truly waned? It'd been quite possible that he'd outgrown them and from his behavior and his words, I was inclined to believe he had. I felt a real sense of regret when this sunk in. "No one?"

"No one," he guaranteed.

"What if…what if one day one of us were to marry?" I timorously suggested.

"Katara, my friendship is unconditional. No matter where our paths lead, you'll always have it; you can depend upon that."

It was lovely of him to reassure me, but I was still dissatisfied; I was disappointed that his more tender feelings for me had passed. Over the years, they'd grown dearer to me than even he could've imagined. Now, to think that I'd sacrificed them…that they were entirely lost to me, was too much to settle. I felt bereft of the modest hope to which I'd clung and in which, during our time apart, I'd frequently taken solace.

He brought his left hand to lightly cover my right hand, where it lay splayed on one of the wooden planks of the pier. "And just so you know, I've missed you too," he gently disclosed.


	5. The Banquet

**Katara's Narrative**

At last, the long-winded speeches were over, and honestly, I don't believe I was alone in thinking that it was not a moment too soon. In fact, throughout the ceremony, our table had been a perfect mirror of the listlessness and indolence promoted by these lengthy, and often vaunted, accolades. I'd say that the majority would agree that it'd been the most tedious part of the evening so far; well, maybe, except for those who'd been distinguished by said lofty praises.

As if the preceding wasn't bad enough, I'd been stuck between a retired General, who'd spent the better part of the addresses fluctuating between wide-mouthed snores and incoherent babblings, -I kid you not- and a Fire Nation Socialite, who, very early on, seemed to have deemed it necessary to school me in the ancestral histories of those important personages in attendance, and complemented these summaries with a healthy dose of gossip; needless to say that before the end, I'd earnestly begun to wonder whose clever idea it'd been to seat me with such, uh…stimulating company? The only redeeming aspect in this bothersome arrangement was the presence of Sokka and Suki, who'd been seated across from me the entire time. Nevertheless, when the time came to break ties with my present company, to mingle with the other guests, I was unspeakably grateful.

Where's Aang? We'd spoken briefly before the general herald to dinner had swept us off to our separate tables, and he'd promised to join me afterwards. During the celebration, he'd been seated at Zuko's table with the other dignitaries, including Prince Horonka, and among the Fire Lord's household, Mai, Ursa and General Iroh. As soon as I was able to delicately extricate myself from the Socialite's monopoly on my attentions, he was the first person that I sought. "There you are," said a whisper, endearingly close to my ear. I turned around to find him standing directly behind me, smiling warmly. So exalted was the sensation that this tenderness produced in me, that I felt as though the Heavens had given me wings; truly, my contentment, in that moment, knew no bounds.

"I didn't forget you," he lightly observed, with his hand extended towards me.

"No, you didn't," I said, smiling; I was very pleased. I placed my hand in his and he drew it into a protective clasp and began to guide me through the exuberant, desultory throng.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

If I wasn't before, I definitely was now, and I wasn't willing that anything unwholesome should disturb that pleasant frame of mind, so I answered a simple, 'yes.' We exited the spacious, elegantly decorated hall unto the long porch, which was softly illumined with candles, and where numerous guests loitered, clad in resplendent shades of red, laughing and chattering among themselves.

When we'd slowly woven our way to the furthest end of the porch, where only a few lingered, we were greeted by an old, kindly, Admiral and his wife; they, like us, were charmed by the full, pale beauty of the moonlight, which cast its splendid, silvery reflection upon the sea, causing it to glisten luminously.

"Avatar Aang," said the Admiral, who was shaking Aang's hand very heartily, "It's good to see you again."

"And you, Sir," Aang replied, in a deferential manner, and bowed slightly to his wife.

"Is this your young lady?" asked the robust Admiral in a booming, merry voice. "She's a lovely creature, eh, my dear?" He'd turned to his wife to garner her approval, which, gentle, old woman that she was, she held no grudge in dispensing. "I say, uncommonly beautiful!" His warm, gushing compliments kept me blushing.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Admiral," said Aang, who appeared mildly discomforted by the Admiral's supposition that we were an item. He'd even released my arm, which moments before, had been comfortably tucked in the crook of his arm. "But, as to the other matter, I'm afraid you're mistaken; I hold no such claim upon the affections of my lovely companion," he said, looking down at me, "other than that of a close friend." Here, he formally introduced me to the Admiral and his wife.

"Water Tribe, are you?" said the Admiral. "I didn't know that they had such beautiful gems hidden away in that frigid, icy place." If I was tempted to take offense to the Admiral's open and frank remarks, I couldn't; his congenial air of easiness rendered it a difficult task. "Ah, here's General Su come to join us. How do you do, Sir?"

A solemn-faced man, with thick, brown sideburns, who was dressed in formal military attire, greeted us. "Doing well, Admiral," he answered, before turning to Aang. "Avatar Aang, may I have a word with you?"

"Come now, Su," the Admiral abruptly interposed. With this informal address, the General cast his old acquaintance an irate glance. "Surely, your business can wait until tomorrow."

"You're out of line, Admiral," warned General Su, who appeared plainly irritated.

"Bah, nonsense," replied the bold Admiral. "Since when has anything other than your own political ambition interested you? And, since when have you ever ceased to use it to stifle the pleasure of others?"

'Oh boy!' I thought to myself. Things sure were getting ugly fast.

General Su seemed at considerable pains to keep his seething anger in check. "It's okay, Admiral," I heard Aang say. "General Su, if you'd give me a moment, I'll join you shortly." He excused himself from their company, and gently pulled me aside. "I'm sorry, Katara. I know I promised that we'd spend some time together…"

"It's okay," I quickly told him, although I was sharply disappointed.

"If you like, maybe we can do something tomorrow," he suggested. "It's my last day here."

"I'd like that very much," I truthfully admitted.

"Then it's settled," he said. "Is there anything in particular that you'd like to do?" He glanced at General Su, who was standing by in a restive attitude. "Think about it; you can tell me your decision later."

"Bah, Jackass!" grunted the old Admiral, who, with his wife in tow, joined me where I stood watching sorrowfully after Aang's retreating back.

After I'd spent a substantial amount of time outside, lamenting my dashed hopes for the evening, I decided to return inside to my friends to salvage what I could of that evening's enjoyment. I went directly to Toph, whom I found out, after a brief conversation, was equally displeased with the progression of the evening.

"I wonder what's so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow," pondered Toph.

"I don't know," I replied, thoughtfully, "but I intend to find out." I'd noticed General Su, Aang, Horonka, and a Fire Nation Commander, talking together in a discreet corner.

"What're you doing?" asked Toph. I had grabbed her hand and was drawing her forward with me.

"If we get close enough, maybe we'll hear something of their conversation."

"Erm, Katara, are you suggesting that we eavesdrop on them?"

"Not a good idea?" I asked. At first I thought, 'Oh, great, she's having a crisis of conscience just when my own conscience was failing,' but then she smiled wickedly and said, "Hmmm! I like that. But, what if this involves some kind of top-secret, political matter?" It sounded laughable at first until I realized that she had a valid point. It was the only thing that made me hesitate for a moment, but my curiosity burned stronger than any warning or caution that cropped up in my mind.

Unobserved, we picked our way across the crowded room and concealed ourselves as near as possible to the small group. Fortunately, our friends were too engrossed in their discussion to notice us. In fact, from where we stood, we could distinctly hear General Su's raised voice.

"With all due respect, General," I heard Horonka say, in an evident, restrained voice, "I hardly think that this is the appropriate place or time to discuss this troublesome subject."

"And what does the Avatar say?" asked General Su.

"I agree with Prince Horonka," said Aang, in a lowered voice. "But, if you insist upon speaking out against the Fire Lord's ruling, I must ask that you do it in his presence. You must understand, General, that my position, by its very nature, must be an impartial one. Nor do I wish to be drawn into the political conflicts of any nation; I say this openly, and respectfully, before our witnesses."

"Very well," General Su snidely replied. "Commander, invite the Fire Lord to the Council Room. Tell him that General Su, the Avatar…and company," he'd tossed Horonka an obnoxious glance, "is waiting for him."

I saw Aang whisper something into Horonka's ear, before they followed General Su, and several other men, whom General Su had beckoned to, through the private corridor that led to the Council Room. Fortunately for Toph and I, or so we thought, the passageway that they'd taken, also led to a social room that was open to everyone. However, when we were almost near the entrance, two of Zuko's guards emerged from the corridor and prevented our advance.

Before the words, 'excuse me,' was out of my mouth, I heard an impressive rustle of dresses, perforated with several exclamations of displeasure, a few murmurings of astonishment and a handful of, well, downright impolite ejaculations, as about twenty guests, with varied expressions of resentment, were hurried from the corridor.

"How rude!" I heard one say. "I'd almost beaten you at Pai Sho too," was another reply. "What's going on?" chimed another. "I wonder who'll be their next victim?" someone else bitterly whispered.

More than ever, I was determined to discover the reason for this hullabaloo. Frustrated, I turned to see Mai approaching. "Why won't they let us through?" I asked her, when we'd shuffled safely out of the sentinels' hearing.

"Come with me," Mai entreated. She brought us to her private rooms, where she promptly dismissed her attendants so that we'd be able to speak privately.

"Mai, what's going on?" I pressed. "Why wouldn't they let us through? Why wouldn't they let _you_ through? You're the Fire Lady."

"I wasn't invited," Mai flatly replied. "I can't say that I care either."

"But you're the Fire Lady."

"Even the Fire Lord is subject to the laws and customs of his own country," said Mai, with an unaffected air, "How much more then, the Fire Lady? It's the way it has been for centuries."

"All these rules…and customs, don't you find them suffocating?"

"My whole life, it's the only way that I've known," said Mai. "I was born to privilege, and with it, all the pressures and obligations of my rank."

"I'll say," interjected Toph, who, perhaps remembering her own past, unhappy situation, seemed to take the provocation of this memory a tad bit too derisively.

"But you have the power to change that, Mai," I passionately encouraged.

"Katara, I don't think you understand the sensitive nature of our politics," said Mai. "While Zuko and I are indeed sovereign in our land, we're only as strong as our loyal supporters. It's been five years since the war has ended, yet the repercussions of that war still reverberate throughout our nation today. And since we've no wish to perpetuate Ozai's Iron Rule, we're more tolerant of our dissenters, who lie in wait to incite the common man against us while their operatives infiltrate our armies and poison them from the inside; every word, every action, every decision that we make, is weighed carefully, beforehand. These men, whom you see gathered here tonight, though proud and absurdly set in their ways, wield a remarkable power in uniting and rallying our armies and our faithful base. Sure, their ideologies are antiquated, and they stick adamantly to their customs; but, I think you'd agree that there's much more at stake here than the possibility of my injured pride."

"Alright, maybe I don't understand…or even appreciate all these…rules and customs, but if you know anything about what's going on with Aang, please tell me."

"You two used to be so close," observed Mai. "I thought he would've told you himself." I didn't answer and she didn't seem to mind. "From what Zuko has told me, this really has to do with General Yen and his recent sentence to life imprisonment by the War Tribunal. Ordinarily this would've been sufficient, but in consideration of the crimes for which he stood accused, the Tribunal delivered an additional judgment to strip him of his fire-bending."

"Oh! And Aang doesn't want to do this?" It seemed excessive to me that the world, which, in times past, had managed without depriving criminals of their bending, now felt it an essential measure in administering its justice.

"I'm not sure," said Mai, "but I'm inclined to believe that he's leaning more towards rejecting this method." She frowned. "But, there's more. Apparently, there's some disputation over whether General Yen was indeed responsible for the slaughter of his own soldiers. He's repeatedly, both in writings and oral protestations, maintained his innocence and has managed to gain the sympathy and support of several of his comrades. General Su is one of his most vocal advocates. He thinks that the Tribunal's sentence was too harsh, considering that General Yen still adamantly proclaims his innocence, and there exists no evidence, within our knowledge, to prove contrary. It also didn't help that all of the witnesses in this case were held accountable for some part in this notorious affair. In spite of the fact that they'd quickly turned against each other, it only made it more difficult for the Tribunal to determine the truth. In light of this, the Tribunal unanimously voted that General Yen, as the leader of the company, should bear the greater blame, and he was sentenced accordingly. The problem is, since then, there's been an evolution of political discord that has split important opinions along three different lines."

"Do you believe this General Yen is innocent?"

"Honestly, I don't know," said Mai. "I don't know what to think."

"Well, what does Zuko think?"

"I'm bound by confidence to refrain from divulging his true feelings in this issue."

'Poor Aang,' I thought to myself. I knew how important these matters were to him. I comprehended that there was still too much about this matter that needed elucidation, and that he could not easily make a decision when unanswered questions remained that were imperative to his fair judgment. What this affair must've cost him in the way of perturbation of mind, I could only imagine. He'd always been a gracious person, who tended to lean more towards mercy, even when the benefactor of his kindness, in my view, might not have warranted it. Oh, yes, I'll willingly admit that his capacity to forgive and look past the offenses of others is much stronger than mines.

--

This was it. The evening had come and gone without so much as a spark of anything fantastic like I'd expected. It was nearing midnight and a handful of us lingered in the hall, chatting amiably amongst ourselves.

"Sokka, come on," I warned. "If you keep eating like that, you're going to get sick.

"Katara, you don't know what you're talking about," argued he, while practically inhaling a generous slice of pie. "It's not like my stomach can't handle it." He stopped one of the servants, who'd been passing by with several others, who were laden with empty dishes to take back to the large pantry in the exterior of the sprawling beach house. "Hey! You think you can get me some more custard?" The servant looked dubious. "Please?"

"You know what? You're embarrassing," I told him, after the servant had left.

"Hey, I'm a guy," he defended, "and a guy needs his strength."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's like midnight already. What do you plan on doing?" I raised my hand in protest. "You know what? Never mind. I don't want to know."

"Aang!" he bellowed. "Over here." I looked up to see Aang and Horonka, who'd just entered through the scarlet-draped doorway. I saw him say something to Horonka before he bent his footsteps in our direction. "Hey, Aang, where've you been all night?" asked Sokka, who was ravenously chomping off another piece of pie.

"I had some things to discuss with Zuko and several of his generals," replied Aang, who appeared rather distracted by Sokka's avaricious display of appetite.

"Couldn't that have waited until tomorrow?" asked Sokka, who pulled a platter of stuffed dumplings from among the dishes that he had arrayed in front of him.

"If I had my way, it would have," Aang replied, as he eased into the chair beside me. "Uh, Sokka, aren't you afraid of…uh, getting sick?"

"That's exactly what I've been telling him," I piped in.

"Hey, Toph told me that you guys are leaving the day after tomorrow," said Sokka, ignoring my comment. "Can't you stay a few more days? I sort of wanted to borrow Appa."

"No, we have to get back to the Earth Kingdom."

"Hmmm! So no negotiating?" asked Sokka. Aang shook his head. "Well, what about tomorrow?"

"It depends," said Aang; his grey eyes had settled upon me in a meaningful way, which, I confess, thrilled me to the very core of my being, in a manner that I'd never, ever, experienced before. I knew that I was blushing profusely and my eyes fell under the intensity of his unfaltering gaze.

"On what?" Sokka prodded. Aang didn't answer. "Hey! Hello! I'm talking to you here."

"Yeah, tell you what Sokka," said Aang, "if by tomorrow morning I don't have anything planned, I'll let you have Appa for the day."

Sokka was watching me with an odd expression, almost as if he wanted to say, 'what's going on here?' Instead, he said, "Fair enough, I guess."

--

The next chapter will consist entirely of Aang and Katara.

Also, since this story is written from Aang and Katara's perspective, I've been thinking that I need to create another story to handle Toph's story. There's only so much that Katara and Aang can know of Toph's story. If I do go ahead with this, it will tie in with this story, be written in the third person, and include most of the gang.


	6. Separate Lives

_Guys, thank you very much for your reviews. I'm glad that you've stuck around even when the story seemed slow. Since some of you mentioned that, I thought I'd explain what I've attempted to do with this story._

_In chapter 1, I tried to give the reader a glimpse into Aang's journey and growth over the past five years since he'd finally achieved his destiny as a fully realized Avatar, but more importantly, in his role as a mediator._

_In Chapter 2, I tried to give the reader a glimpse into the dynamics between the individuals that comprise his team; how they worked together and the kind of relationship that exists between them, as well as their important work in the Earth Kingdom. Don't underestimate their work in the Earth Kingdom. It will be an imperative point at the end of this story, in that it will solve one of the biggest issues that exist with Aang's current situation. Needless to say, it will be a magnanimous gesture so I had to emphasize Aang's work throughout that kingdom in particular._

_In Chapter 3, I tried to give a further glimpse into the relationship between Aang, Toph and Horonka. I see these two as significant individuals in Aang's life and I wanted to establish that in the reader's mind. I mean, they've been with him, Horonka especially, in those formative years when he learned a lot in shaping his role as the world's mediator._

_In Chapter 4 & 5, I tried to give the reader a glimpse into the political and moral difficulties that Aang face in his capacity as an Avatar. It wasn't enough for me just to say that he's matured. I wanted to show that maturity._

_Okay, so all of the preceding dealt with Aang in his role as the Avatar. I chose to do it that way to demonstrate how much Aang has grown in wisdom as a capable leader and a man, to the point where he's comfortable enough with his own judgment. Hopefully I've achieved what I set out to do._

_My other purpose in emphasizing Aang's growth is to show that he's now capable of the responsibility of taking a wife, in the event that he and Katara are able to bridge the difference between them. In every chapter, I've also tried to add some type of romantic reflection and/or moment to remind the reader that this is indeed a romantic story, but the foundation of responsibility had to be laid first. But now we've come to the "heart of the matter." _

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**Katara's Narrative**

I'd made so many mistakes; I had so many regrets; things that I should have said; things that I should've done; all too late. It hadn't taken me long after my parting with Aang, four years before, to realize this. For so long, I'd been fighting my feelings; fighting my love; fighting myself, without really understanding my heart, which, in the end, had proven truer to me than the overwhelming influence of my doubts. Once I'd penetrated this mystery; once I'd examined my heart; once all was laid bare to me, I'd realized, too late, the enormity of what I'd done. It wasn't just that I'd spurned his love; I knew that I'd hurt him deeply.

If after what I'd done, and the manner in which I'd done it, it was selfish in me to hope for a second chance, I could not resist it. In absence, he'd grown infinitely dearer to me. All the things about his presence in my life that I'd taken for granted had been revealed to me. He'd been my most beloved friend; yet, still more. Through our darkest paths, in our darkest moments, we'd been a beacon to each other. When I'd looked back on our journey, all the hardships we'd suffered, all the failures we'd endured, all the tests we'd conquered, I'd finally begun to understand the depth...the magnitude of all that he was to me...that he meant to me. I'd finally begun to understand that he completed me; that he balanced me; and above all, that he'd loved me, selflessly, unwaveringly and whole-heartedly, and I had thrown it all away.

The unhappiness and remorse that this truth had stirred in me was magnified with the passing of the months, which soon multiplied into years, when the hope of his coming had begun to fade. I cannot perfectly describe the hurt that had oppressed my heart then. I can only tell of the ineffable sadness that besets me, in the hours of my solitude, today. Seeing him again, through the eyes of this sacred, confident love, had done much to renew and awaken the sorrow of my regrets. In him, I saw that man that I'd always known that he'd become; his gentleness, his kindness, his love for humanity, had always been qualities that endeared me to him. He's the best man that I've ever known; there was none, living or dead, that, in my eyes, -the only one that mattered to me- could compare. Even in youth, when I'd rejected him, he'd remained benevolent towards me; and now, in this present meeting, he was as magnanimous and gentle towards me, if not more.

Nonetheless, there was a wall between us that I could not ignore; invisible, perhaps, but nevertheless a formidable one. I felt how separated our lives had become, and, I confess, in the tenderness of my love, and in my fervent desire to be close to him, from the time of this realization, it has never ceased to wound me. As someone who'd always felt things more keenly than others, I was afflicted no less profoundly. It was my fault. When he would've given his love freely, I'd discouraged it; I'd despised it. The irony was, now that I'd taught him to love me only as a friend, and nothing more, I yearned for something deeper.

If his feelings had been a perplexity to me before the Admiral's supposition had brought them to light, they'd been made abundantly clear to me now. When I'd returned to the sanctuary of my room, and I'd had the chance to reflect, undisturbed, I found that as assuredly as he only regarded me as a friend, the truth smote my heart grievously. But there'd been times…there'd been moments, when a look, a glance, a gesture, had betrayed something more, and in those instances, before they'd withered into nothingness, I'd felt that he still cared for me.

"Hey, Katara, where are you guys off to?" Sokka's voice had pierced through my thoughts, where I'd been standing, lost in contemplation, before a painting that hung on the wall, before the stairs. "I just saw Aang outside getting Appa ready." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Hey! Why aren't the rest of us invited?"

"Why didn't you ask him yourself?" I said evasively, as I snatched up my satchel from a high-back chair that was set against the wall.

"I'm asking you, aren't I? Is there something going on here that I should know about?"

"Sokka!" Suki scolded. She'd just entered through the front doors. "Leave her alone!"

Through the wide, open doors, I could see Aang climbing the stone-steps. I grew a little nervous, lest Sokka should insist upon continuing the subject, which was bound to put us both in an awkward position. "Okay, well, I guess I'll see you guys later," I waved.

"Hey, not so fast," objected Sokka.

"Sokka!" Suki reproached; she'd even stepped into his way to prevent him from pursuing me. "Leave them alone."

I shot Suki a grateful glance, before quickly slipping through the doors to meet Aang, who'd stop to fondle with his sandals. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, nothing to worry about," he said, as he turned over his sandal and shook a small pebble loose from the interior, before slipping it back unto his barefoot.

"Better?"

He grinned. "Yeah." He glanced at my satchel. "Ready?"

After all these years, I'd forgotten how exhilarating it was to ride on Appa. As I watched the beach house recede into a tiny speck, I couldn't help smiling. We were off; we'd escaped to spend an entire, un-interrupted, friends-free, carefree, fun day…_alone._

I crawled up to the front of the saddle to get a better view of the outlying islands. "So, where exactly are we going, Aang?"

"You know I can't tell you that," he said smiling. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I did."

"I guess not," I grinned, as he saw my intention to join him, and rose to help me down atop Appa's head.

After we'd settled down, Momo jumped into my lap. "Oh, so you're finally talking to me now?" I said, stroking his head, fondly.

"He wasn't talking to you before?" asked Aang, as he picked up Appa's reigns.

"It doesn't matter, anymore, does it Momo?" I whispered affectionately to the lemur as I continued to pet his fur.

The wind was blowing my hair into my face, and as I reached up to pull it back, I noticed that it was also in Aang's face. "Sorry," I said; he'd momentarily held a cluster in his hand, caressing it –or it might've been my imagination- before releasing it. "I should braid it."

"No, it's okay," said he. "I like…it looks nice that way."

I'm certain I blushed. "Thank you."

Sometime later, we began to descend to a tiny, remote island, which was surrounded by clear, blue-green waters that sparkled by the fire of the sun's light. During the time of our escapades throughout the Fire Nation, I didn't recall visiting this one. In fact, from our aerial view, it didn't seem as though it was an inhabited island. "White sand?" I was stunned; I turned to Aang. "How is that possible? These are volcanic islands."

"I know; I was just as surprised when I stumbled upon this isle."

As soon as we landed on the beach, I couldn't resist going immediately to soak my feet in the water. To my rapturous delight, the water was warm and shallow. "I'll take that," I told Aang, who was climbing down upon Appa's middle leg with a basket.

When we'd finished unloading and setting up our stuff, I went into a hidden, rocky nook to disrobe into my swimwear; but not before Aang had checked it out to ensure that it was safe. As he felt that vehemently about it, I was forced to swallow my objection. Apparently, when he'd been to the island last, he and Horonka had been affrighted by what they first thought to be a venomous snake; he claimed that he didn't want to risk that real possibility now. In any case, while I was in that sheltered place, I heard a heavy, rushing sound that reminded me of a waterfall and I began to wonder if there was indeed one nearby; if there was, we hadn't seen it from the sky.

When I was done, I stepped out into the open air feeling strangely conscious of myself. I couldn't easily rid myself of this feeling either, which, seriously, was tantamount to silly. It's not like Aang had never seen me before in swim clothes. Okay, I admit that it was different then; we were both kids; now we were both changed, physically. It was still ridiculous though, because I'd been on the beach with all of our other friends these past few days, and I'd never felt this, uh, intimidated around them. I was, after all, wearing clothes. Oh Katara! Get it together, girl. I inhaled deeply to calm my nerves and combed my fingers through my long, loose hair.

By the time I'd finally mustered enough courage to join him, he'd unpacked the two baskets that we'd brought with us. When he'd looked up to see me standing before him, for a brief moment, I felt the fervor of his glance, and I knew I colored. "Well…well, I thought you might be hungry," he said, distractedly, before turning again to remove some chopsticks that had been concealed in a compartment in one of the baskets.

"You're right," I said, shoving my folded, discarded clothes into my satchel. "I'm famished." It was long past noon. "Wow!" I looked at the copious display of baked and cooked dishes, fresh fruits, and vegetables on wooden platters.

"I overdid it?" asked he, smiling sheepishly.

"No, it's perfect."

"Good," he said smiling. "The credit isn't entirely mines though; Suki helped."

"It's still a lovely gesture." I began to help myself to a little of each dish.

After we'd eaten, and we'd packed away the leftovers, I told him that I suspected that there might be a waterfall on the island. "Are you up to it?" he asked, as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

"What?" I swallowed as I turned aside and pretended to straighten my sandals near my satchel, when all I really wanted to do was hide my tainted cheeks. I hadn't realized just how lean and toned his physique had become in his tall, manly stature.

"A little exploration."

Regaining myself, I turned to face him; I willfully avoided his eyes in the hope that he wouldn't be able to discern what was currently passing through my mind. Didn't they say that the eyes were the windows to the soul? Well, I was sure that in my present discomposure, mines were certain to expose me. "Do you think it's safe?" I asked. I certainly didn't relish the thought of being injured and stranded on some un-inhabited island. Okay, so maybe I was being a worry-wart, but I couldn't help it. I looked towards the narrow lane that led, no doubt, into the interior of the island. It was flanked on both sides by thick shrubbery.

"Well?" asked he, with his hand outstretched to me. I hesitated a few seconds before placing my hand in his. Whatever reservations I'd formerly entertained was expediently swept away by his toothy grin. I guess I was gamed since he was.

We forged our way into the thick, dense, foliage where it soon gave way to a smooth bed of green, stunted grass. I'd been right. The increasing rush of many waters soon eclipsed every other sound in our immediate vicinity. The waterfalls remained hidden to our sight, but from their sound, we determined that they were situated across the clear, pool of water that we'd stumbled upon. We could see schools of tiny fishes darting swiftly throughout the water; and while it was veritably a beautiful sight to behold, we quickly noticed that there were also a few small, fresh water snakes slithering through it, and this repulsed me. Now, generally, I'm by no means a wimp –but when it came to crawling –creeping things, I'll unabashedly admit that I shrink inwardly, mostly because of the repugnant feelings that those detestable creatures inspired in me. Since we'd made a pact to forego any bending for the day, to live like beach bums, natural and idle, there was no easier way across, but to swim through it and this I flatly refused to do.

"What's the matter?" asked Aang, when I resisted following him into the water. "They're harmless." He surreptitiously, and cautiously, plucked one from the water to demonstrate this point to me, but I remained immovable and unconvinced. "Okay then. Wait here." Like an arrow, he dove agilely into the water, before re-surfacing a few feet away. He began to feel out the sandy bed before swimming back to the shore on this side of the pool. "I can carry you across, if you like." I knew that I blushed. I was beginning to protest the idea, but in one rapid, powerful movement, he'd swept me up into his arms with a giddy suddenness that startled me to a cry, much like he'd done in that distant time when we'd first met. I was easily reminded of our first meeting. "Well?" he laughed. I wrapped my arms around his neck in an act of submission.

As he waded his way through the water, with firm strides, I furtively studied him. Once or twice, he'd glanced down at me and smiled. I wish I knew what he was thinking. I wanted to know if he, like me, was enjoying our day together. I tightened my arms around his neck and rested my head against his shoulder; I don't think I'd ever felt this safe in all of my life. How I've missed him so…

"What are you thinking?" he asked; I perceived a trace of a smile in his grey eyes.

"I was thinking how glad I was that we decided to do this; to get away."

We'd finally arrived at the other bank, and he gently sat me down upon my bare feet. From here, we had to climb a wall of rocks and boulders. The further we ascended, the louder the swollen echo of the waterfalls became, until we attained to a precipice that looked down into an enclosed, turquoise-blue, sparkling pool; the white sandy bed was blatantly visible through the clear waters. It was the most astounding, the most breathtaking view of cascading waterfalls that I'd ever seen. The falls precipitated from various fissures in the circular wall of the partially sheltered, cavern, and flowed out through low arches at the base of the wall. "Enchanting, isn't it?" said Aang.

I was glad to see that he was similarly affected by the singular, magnificence of our view. "It's stunning!"

"Do you want to try for it?"

"Do you think we can make it?" From where we stood, it appeared to be a steep distance down and the rocks followed an odd pattern, bending inward and vanishing altogether. "What if we can't get back up here? I don't see a clear way down."

"Stay here; I'll see if I can find a way down."

While I did have an earnest desire to explore this exquisite find, as was my nature, I felt that it was better for us to err on the side of caution. "I don't know, Aang. Are you sure about this?"

"If it looks the slightest bit unsafe, I give you my word that I'll abandon my attempt."

"Be careful," I reluctantly agreed. I watched after him as he carefully began to descend the rocks, testing the strength of each rock as he went along, before he disappeared from my sight. After fifteen minutes had passed, I was beginning to grow worried, until he reappeared in the rippling water below. "You made it!" I shouted.

"Yeah, now it's your turn," he yelled, creating an undulating, resonation of his voice throughout the cavern. "I'll meet you near the bottom. Be careful! The rocks grow mossy near the end." He began to swim back to my side of the cliff, effectively vanishing again from my view.

When I'd made it down with no more than one or two slippery frights, he was there to greet me. "I think it's safe, Katara," he whispered, jestingly. "No snakes."

"Oh, you think it's funny?" I said, suppressing the urge to douse him with a mighty wave.

He chuckled. "Well, what're you waiting for?"

Chilled at first by the water's temperature, with an impetuous plunge, I submerged fully to expedite the acclimatization of my body to the water. I began to swim towards Aang, who'd just dived beneath the water. I confess that I enjoyed watching his lithe, quick strokes through the water; his motion was excellent, and exceedingly beautiful, at the same time. I gave a bewildered yelp when I felt him raising me, playfully, from the water, before easing me back down. I hadn't seen when he'd doubled back around.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he said, wiping his face dry, and looking around at the plenteous waterfalls, which poured from the crevices in the encompassing walls. The vision was comparably, much more beautiful from this vantage.

"I think I could stay here forever," I told him.

"Be careful what you wish for," he teased.

I looked at him seriously. "Are you happy, Aang?"

He laughed. "Of course, I am. Why do you ask?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I meant…if your life is a happy one?"

His laughter quickly dissipated into a fading smile. "Oh!" he said thoughtfully. "Well, I guess to some degree, yes, it's alright. I get to help others, and that's rewarding in itself."

"But is it enough?" I pressed, though careful not to betray too much of my emotions prematurely.

"It will have to be," he calmly replied. "It's not very often in life that we gain those things that we set our hearts upon. So I've learned to be content with those things that I do possess."

"What is your heart's desire, Aang?"

He deliberated a bit, before saying, "I think I'd like to keep that one close to my heart...at least for now."

I was looking for a sign; any sign that would give me an indication of the character of his feelings towards me. "This is silly, but do you believe that there's really only one person out there for each of us?"

He didn't answer at first. Instead he asked, "Why all these questions? What're you trying to determine?"

"Please," I begged. "Humor me."

He held my gaze for a time, before relenting. "Alright," said he, finally. "To be honest, I don't know; I vacillate between thinking there is and there isn't. I suppose there's something rather endearing –bewitching even, in thinking that in this vast world of so many, there's only one person among them who'd be our perfect complement." His gaze fell on me. "What about you? What do you believe?"

"I believe that there's only one soul mate out there for each of us," I unhesitatingly answered, "and that we'll never truly be happy until we find that person –because, without them, we're incomplete; we'll keep wandering, unfulfilled and desolate, trying to convince ourselves that we're happy, when we know within ourselves that we really aren't. Meanwhile, we fill our lives with purpose hoping that it will substitute for that thing that is destined to complete us, while all the time staving off the truth of our loneliness…our emptiness."

He looked at me strangely. "Wow! You've given a lot of thought to this." I colored. Perhaps I'd spoken too eagerly. "Not that there's anything wrong with that," he hurriedly added. "There's genuine beauty...and truth in what you've said. But, since you're so passionate about this, I have to ask, have _you_ found your soul mate? Or, are you like the rest of us, _unlucky_ souls?"

My heart sunk. _Unlucky?_ What did he mean by that? That one word alone threw me into an agitated consciousness. What did it mean?

"Katara."

I swore I had spaced out for a second or two. "I…I don't know," I said, unsteadily. That one word had shattered my confidence –something that I'd never really possessed in my past romantic encounters with him. How was it to be any different now? I was as awkward now as I'd been in those times. I was crushingly, overpoweringly, blisteringly, disappointed. The ground that I'd gained in my quest to discover his true sentiment towards me was quickly forsaken.

"Hey, are you okay?" He grew increasingly concerned. "It's getting late. Perhaps we should head back."

"Yeah," I submitted, in a forced, cheerful voice.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem a little upset."

"I'm fine."

He looked and remained unsure. "I was thinking that we can dive through the arched-way." I hardly knew how I responded but I must've nodded because together we began to swim towards the threshold. There we plunged beneath the water, swimming through the length of the archways until we re-surfaced on the other side, where, at first, we didn't recognize our surroundings, until we heard Appa's growl, which informed us that we were at the other end of the beach.

We still had maybe two hours or so left before sunset. It didn't take us long to get packed for our return, but we did this quietly, with barely a word exchanged between us. When we were airborne, and I was sitting beside him, he softly asked, "Katara, you seem upset; did I say anything to distress you?"

"I'm just tired," I lied. I don't think he believed me, but he didn't pursue the subject.

"Had you, at least, a good time?"

I smiled genuinely. "Of course! It was my best day yet since coming to the Fire Nation."

He took my hand in a gentle clasp. "I'm glad," he said, before releasing it.


	7. Escaping the Past

_As always, thanks for the reviews, guys._

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**Aang's Narrative**

It was finished; I'd passed the test; I'd faced my fears to discover that in some ways, I'd already begun to surrender to the inevitable hand of fate. This war, between desire and will that had been raging to gain supremacy within the fortress of my mind, had finally begun to wear me down. I yearned for peace, until, at last, I began to understand that the genuine measure of strength existed in the courage to let go. It was easy to cleave to the past; to hold fast to the familiar; to cling steadfastly to the old desires. It took mettle to let go.

Being with her again, remembering all those things that I cherished in her, hadn't been easy. If ever there was a person more conflicted…more tormented…more embattled, in the clutches of his own desires, me still more. I still loved her as passionately, as unfalteringly, as devotedly, as tenaciously, as ever; it was, and still is, my ardent belief that no interminable span of time could alter that. Nonetheless, it was time for me to spurn the dead weight of winter; to break free from the chains of the past; to relinquish barren dreams; to rise in the newness of spring.

"Twinkle-toes! Where are you going?" asked Toph. She, Katara, Haru, Horonka, and I were standing at the entrance to a large, rectangular tent, where Suki, Sokka, Ty Lee, and the Kyoshi girls had just disappeared. "Aren't you coming with us?"

"No, I'll meet up with you guys later," I answered.

"Are you sure?" interposed Katara, turning to me. "They might have cured vegetables."

"No, its okay," I declined. "I'm not hungry, anyway." Like the others, I knew that she wanted to try out the festival of cured meats, which were purportedly of varied culinary styles exhibited from the three different nations. "I think I'll wander around the booths for a bit; there's so much to see."

"Ah, suit yourself," Toph bluntly dismissed.

"Aang, it's your last night here," said Katara, in that reminiscent gentle manner of hers. She'd remained behind with me while the others went on ahead. "I was hoping that we'd all stay together."

"I won't stray too far." She seemed doubtful. I saw her glance towards the entrance of the tent and back towards me, as if she was trying to settle something in her mind.

"Katara, what is it?" I waited; she looked at me several times and appeared ill at ease.

"Nothing," she said, at length. "It's not important." She assumed a gay attitude. "See you soon."

The modest-sized town on Ember Island was swarming with revelers, masquerading in a plethora of colorful, artistic masks and costumes. There was a diverse slew of performing artists, among which were acrobats, magicians, actors, jugglers, musicians, and dancers. A festive fever pervaded the air, as the crowds pressed from one booth to the next or, in some cases, stood watching short skits performed on stage by overly-dramatic actors or magicians executing extravagant tricks of fire. As I walked idly along, fudging my way through the teeming, noisy, jubilant crowd, I came upon the queerest little gathering; queer because of the tiny, steel-haired midget, who stood on a stool before a group of children; some, taller than him. He was telling a story of pirates that caused me to loiter to hear its conclusion; I found his antics simultaneously amusing and engrossing; undoubtedly, he was an engaging entertainer; his eloquent use of physiognomy to communicate his story was admirable. Suddenly, he threw his head back and bellowed an unrestrained howl into the air, which caused the children to shriek loudly; some of the smaller ones even began to cry, while a dispute arose among the elder boys over who hadn't been scared and who had been the bravest.

Moving on, I came upon a cheering throng, where a stout man stood in its midst, juggling lighted torch-sticks with marvelous dexterity, at an increasingly accelerated pace. When his act ended, I joined in the exuberant applause to commend his excellent performance.

"Thank you, my lords and ladies," he cried breathlessly as he bowed deeply and repeated this display of deference all around. How a man of his considerable size was able to pull off that extravagant series of juggling was extraordinary. "Now, comes the fun part," he proclaimed. "I'll offer this prize," he said, holding up a cleverly-carved, coveted dagger, "to any man who can juggle a dozen of these lighted torch-sticks in perfect harmony." This elicited a few excited babblings from the crowd. "That's too hard," shouted a heckler. "Make it a fair challenge."

"Come now," said the announcer, as he slowly paraded the beautiful workmanship of the dagger before the crowd. "No takers?"

Everyone was looking inquiringly at his neighbor. "I will," I volunteered. When I said this, and came forward, a collective hush fell on the crowd. "Hey, it's the Avatar," shouted a voice from the crowd. The usual awe-struck stupor befell and the crowd was momentarily speechless. I was used to this response.

"That's not fair!" yelled someone from the crowd, who jolted the minds of everyone back to the matter at hand.

"Yeah, he's the Avatar," agreed another from yonder side of the crowd.

"Yeah," yelled an increasing number of assenting voices.

"Avatar, it's an honor," said the portly man, bowing in a sweep of reverence, "but…well, I'm in a difficult situation here." Not for a second was I deceived. More than likely, he'd never intended on parting with his precious dagger.

From here, I decided to move on to the other activities, when I noticed, for the first time, that I had a small following of little ones. "Hello there," I said, turning to them. "What can I do for you?"

"Magic," said one of the tiniest, most adorable little girls.

"Oh, I see," I said smiling. "What makes you think that I can do magic?"

"Because you're the Avatar," piped a boy, who looked to be no more than ten years old.

"Dad said that you can bend the four elements," said a younger boy, who shoved passed his friend to get nearer to me. "Will you show us…please?" he begged, as he followed this up with an emphatic clasp of his hands.

"Alright," I said, tickled by the subsequent pleas that seconded his request. "But you'll have to settle for an air-bending trick." Needless to say that as far as the enthusiasm of children went, the more tricks I did, the more they wanted to see. While I did enjoy pleasing them, I was hard pressed in the end to extricate myself from the tugs and pulls of their insistent, little grasps.

The Sungi Horn. Lately, ever it has worked to resurrect, and usher reflections of sorrow to the forefront of my mind; it was no different now. Its wistful melody was surfeit with melancholy; a poignant sadness stole over me; I was stayed in the memories of the day…in memories of _her_. The purveyor of this heartfelt rendition was a pretty, young girl, who was dressed in red flourishing garments, and seated upon a bench, in the center of an assiduous gathering; as she played, her fair appearance was transfigured into a solemn portrait of grace; even her fellow musicians, who hovered nearby, seemed spell-bounded in hushed appreciation. Her moving piece compelled me to stay, and without being conscious of it, I'd slipped into an empty seat beside an elderly man.

"Stirring, isn't it?" said my companion, who was stroking his beard, contemplatively.

"Admiral!" I said, somewhat astonished to find him there. "I didn't see you."

"I know. You seem to have a lot on your mind," replied he. Several bids for silence were heard as our fellow listeners threw us a few annoyed glances.

"So what's on your mind, mi boy," said the Admiral, in a failed attempt at a whisper. More looks of irritation were tossed our way. "You seem a little lost. I hope it's nothing to do with your pretty little friend. My, what a gem she is. Now there's a girl capable of captivating any man's heart. No offense, of course, Avatar Aang. I always speak as I find," he tapped me on my arm, "and I can't help speaking my mind. It's a fault I have. I said to my wife the other day, 'when a man's already this close to the grave, as I am, its nonsense to start wrestling with what's already ingrained in him.' Common sense tells me that the battle is already lost" I don't know why it pleased me so much to hear his warm praises of Katara's beauty, but I felt gratified, and irrationally jealous that someday someone else, upon whom her ardor will rest, would experience this pleasure, as her lover. Her image rose in my mind's eye and my heart ached, literally. I was drowning in her. It wasn't even her beauty that anchored me so deeply in this sea of love; it was the aggregate of all those things that she was to me…that she meant to me.

"She's just a friend," I assured him.

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?" replied the forthright Admiral. "I may not look it, but I meant what I said about being ancient; and I think I've lived long enough in this world to recognize love when I see it; as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, that young lady loves you; I saw it plainly in her attitude and, well, the way she looked at you."

When I heard Horonka's sentiment re-echoed in the Admiral's words, I was discomfited. I couldn't afford to allow doubt to creep in; not when I was finally reconciled to ending these five years of suffering; to ending my private despair. After all, what were the chances that she'd learnt to love me while we were apart? If there was indeed some truth in Horonka and the Admiral's observation, I quickly conceded that what they saw was most likely what I saw back when I also thought that she might've loved me. I'd been mistaken then just as Horonka and the Admiral were probably mistaken now. It was simply her way; she was kind, caring and compassionate towards so many. Nevertheless, I was still uneasy.

"I don't know Admiral. I've traveled this road before and, well…it doesn't matter anymore."

"Oh! I see! Had your heartbroken, had you?" broke in the blunt Admiral.

"It's all in the past, Admiral."

"Really? And I suppose you've gotten passed it already?" rejoined the Admiral in a tone that clearly demonstrated that he thought otherwise.

"I still have my difficult days," I admitted.

"And have you already determined that you'll love again?"

I smiled. "I don't know, Admiral."

"Bah! Just like I've never known anyone to die from their _disappointment_,' said he, "I've never known anyone to pine away their entire life over a lost love." He looked at me, earnestly. "Mark my words; you _will_ love again."

"Not like this," I answered.

"Perhaps, but you _will_, nonetheless," he insisted. "See that bright young flower over there?" He pointed out the lovely maiden who'd been playing the Sungi Horn. "Now there used to be a tragic story. Three years ago, she also thought that she'd never love again after her betrothed was killed while attempting to put an end to a scuffle between his friends. Take a good look at her. Isn't she like a blossoming flower? She found love again." I noticed that she was joined shortly by an amorous lover. "You're young, Avatar Aang. There's still someone out there for you, and maybe if Destiny smiles on you, you'll find her sooner rather than later."

"I wish I could believe that," I somberly replied. Truthfully, I was heartened by the Admiral's wisdom and encouragement. Maybe there was indeed someone else out there for me. Before, it'd been unacceptable to my thinking, and even more so to my heart; but maybe, just maybe, even if I couldn't fathom it now, there'd come a time when some new love would brighten my path. For too long now I'd been treading in the footsteps of a sojourner, witnessing the warmth of families around me, as a stranger looking on. I longed for home, in its truest and best sense; a place where love awaited me; a place of unreserved comfort and solace; a place where my heart could finally rest.

"Ah, but in time you will, my dear boy," the Admiral reassured, "you will. Chances are your tale won't be any different to my granddaughter's."

"Is that your granddaughter?

"The very one," replied the proud Admiral.

"Well, Admiral, it was a pleasure," I said rising, "but I think it's time that I returned to my friends."

"Here, are they? I did wonder if you'd come alone."

By the time I'd retraced my way to the tent, none of my friends remained. After I'd searched, unsuccessfully, through the milling faces, I figured that they must've already departed for the beach house and I was resolved on doing the same. As I walked through the progressively thinning streets, I began to reflect upon the day; more particularly upon my time with Katara, and the kindly advice that the Admiral had given to me.

Presently, I halted before a copious number of steps that led to an edifice atop a hill. I'd been drawn…impelled to that place; almost as if some invisible hand urged me on. It was a place of personal defeat to me; where the death knell to my fondest wishes had been struck. As many times as I'd been to Ember Island, I'd never returned to that place; it'd been too strongly associated with my failed dreams. Tonight, however, it seemed befitting that I should return to it. It was time to let go.

Passing along the dimly-lit, wide, wooden corridor, I could hear the noise of the theatre-props, and the voices of the actors who were performing on stage. I came to the door that led to the terrace. I hesitated. Beyond it, time stood still for me; it was time to set it flowing again; to leave the ghosts of the past behind.

Slowly, I turned the knob, and the door squeaked open. "I knew you'd come," echoed a quiet, solemn voice from the pervading darkness.


	8. Heart of the Matter

_Sorry for the late update, guys. Man, this chapter was really, really tough to write. I'll admit that it was probably because I wanted it to be really good because it's the most important one, in my opinion. It's been a while since I've been where Aang and Katara are right now, but I remember that it was usually a messy, heartrending business. This chapter might also be kind of chaotic; I can't objectively tell right now because I've been over it so many times. But if it's chaotic, I think it's meant to be that way. At least they aren't breaking dishes and furniture. *laughs* Okay, that was a joke._

_Anyway, please keep in mind that both Aang and Katara are sporting under hurt feelings. Also remember that you're reading this through Aang's eyes and his perception might not necessarily be accurate, just like Katara's perception of Aang was not necessarily accurate in previous chapters. I really sort of wished that I'd written this in the third person because then I would've been able to deal with both their perceptions and feelings in an objective way._

_About the dialogue, like I said in the beginning of this story, their thoughts and speech are more mature. My premise for Aang, for example, is that he has practically grown up in the courts of Ba Sing Se, Fire Nation and Northern Water Tribe. This means the Crème de la Crème of society. It also means "educated" people. Pay attention to the Earth King's speech, the Fire Nation's Music Instructor, Headmaster, and Teacher, just to name a few. Even Princess Yue's speech and manner was refined._

_Anyway, whereas the gang could have gotten away with disrespect, rudeness and ill-manners, as kids, they don't have that excuse anymore as adults. Roku, at sixteen was different to Roku as the Avatar. That doesn't mean that the essence of his character had changed. It just means that he came back to the Fire Nation with a deeper wisdom of the world and most likely, more educated. I hardly think that Aang would be able to garner the respect of the world leaders if he's ignorant and/or didn't learn and grow much these past five years. He should be able to communicate on their level and be knowledgeable about many, many things that affect the nations. If he's not, he would not be able to make informed decisions. He is, after all, the world's mediator. Hence, my goal is/was to make Aang into a younger version of the Avatars that showed up in the finale pow-wow. I'm not talking about their personalities. Each of them had their own distinct personalities, but the way they communicated/spoke was quite similar._

_In addition, the way a leader communicates and what he communicates is important. The US Presidential Election is a perfect example of that. (That's all I'll say about that). The important thing to note is that Aang is eighteen. He's more settled. I've tried to keep the essence of his character and he even still has his fun escapades; but he's no longer a kid; his thoughts are no longer that of a kid; his decisions are no longer that of a kid; he's more introspective and, I daresay, wiser. By the way, it's the same thing with Mai. I like to think that now that she has purpose, she's grown wiser._

_One more thing, you guys should check out Allagea's gallery at Deviantart. She just colored her Adult Gang sketch and it's fantastic. Toph looks awesome and Katara's anatomy is gorgeous. Hey, but they all look great. _

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**Aang's Narrative**

When I'd heard _that_ voice, an acute sense of bewilderment besieged me. It was the last voice that I'd expected to hear in _this place_ --that I'd grown to mortify; in this place that was, for me, the token of my profoundest regret. Once my confusion had passed, and I became painfully aware of my position, an indomitable sense of vulnerability assailed me; I felt ashamed and guiltily exposed; almost as if I'd been caught in some secret, craven act. The moon, which was momentarily immured in an impervious mantle of dark clouds, granted me a brief respite to gather my senses, before it cast its rays upon the wooden deck, dispelling the long shadows around her.

"I knew you'd come," she repeated, in that old familiar air that was so reminiscent of those times when she'd wanted to talk seriously. "I can't explain it; I just knew."

I don't know why, but when she'd said those words, a terrible presentiment grappled me. Instinctively, I reached behind me to pull the door shut, before passing through the curtain-draped threshold to descend the steps. "What're you doing here, Katara?" I asked as I came to stand before her.

"I know you're surprised to find me here," she diffidently replied, with her eyes averted, signifying her uneasiness, "but, Sokka…we found out that the Ember Island Players were putting on a comedy, and well…he sort of dragged us here to see it."

"That's not what I meant," I solemnly replied, as I looked down into her slightly upturned face; she was so _incredibly_ beautiful –and such a distraction to my thoughts. "What're you doing _here_?"

She turned away from me and went to the wooden railing of the deck, where I also followed. For a long time, she stood silently gazing out unto the gentle rolling sea, until, at length, she spoke. "Aang, I've been thinking a lot about this," she said, turning to face me, "and I want you to be honest with me. Last week I asked you a question, but you never answered me." Without her continuing any further, I'd already divined her purpose; and, in my troubled state of mind, I wasn't prepared for it; I hadn't come here for this; it was bad enough that I'd already began to struggle with the urgent desire that had brought me here in the first place; I needed to sever that debilitating aspect of my past, but found it a difficult endeavor whilst in her fair company, which presented too strong a temptation to revert back to that old, useless infirmity that had hindered me much on a personal level. Yes, in contemplating the Admiral's advice, one of my biggest flaws, which had otherwise escaped my perception, had been illumined in my mind; I'd wasted the last four years of my life under a cloud of _self-pity, _and hadn't recognized it until the Admiral's wisdom had opened my understanding and brought it to light:

_Bah! Just like I've never known anyone to die from their __disappointment__, I've never known anyone to pine away their entire life over a lost love._

What a humbling revelation that had been for me. I'd correctly understood, on my own, that it took courage to let go; but I was also forced to acknowledge that I never would've persevered if I'd persisted in this self-pity. Now that I understood these two truths more perfectly, I was finally determined upon a new, healthy beginning. The problem was her presence here --now, which served to re-ignite the turmoil that had already been settled in my mind; it set on fire a genuine conflict in my thoughts between what might have been and what could yet be. In other words, it created an authentic clash between the stinging reflections of the past and the un-revealed motivations behind her presence, now.

"Why didn't you ever come to see us?" asked Katara, breaking through my deeply worrisome musings. "For so long, I waited; but you never came." She was looking up at me with earnest expectation. "Why?"

This time, the accusation in her eyes was gone; it was supplanted by a tender look of disappointment, which could not stir me to repentance like it'd done previously. It seemed impossible in this place, where the pain of her rejection became, once more, a living memory to me, with all the attending feelings of one who'd been spurned. "I don't know, Katara," I sighed as I began to cast around ideas in my head to succinctly, and tactfully, bring this current train of conversation to an end; if only for the sake of my feelings…and my sanity. "I think it would be better to spare ourselves."

"From what?" she asked, as she gently touched my forearm.

I looked at her hand where it laid against my sleeve. "Perhaps it would better to leave the past in the past."

"Aang," she gently pressed. "Why won't you talk to me?" In the pale darkness, her clear, blue eyes appealed to me; my heart softened, and I covered her hand, where it still rested on my forearm, with my other hand, and lightly squeezed it. "You know," she softly whispered, "what happened here, five years ago…" She hesitated. "I never meant to hurt you." Her eyes, which had been downcast when she said these words, now rose to meet mines. "I hope you believe that."

"Sure I do," I answered, very simply, after a few moments had passed.

"I used to think that our friendship could survive anything, but now," she said shaking her head, "now, I'm not so sure."

"Katara, the other day when I told you that my friendship was unconditional, I meant it. Never doubt that!"

"Why shouldn't I?" she passionately objected, which, quite frankly, caught me off my guard. "Tell me! If I'd never come to Ember Island, when would I have seen you again?"

"Katara!" I began to protest. "Be reasonable! You know my work in the Earth…"

"Uh, so now I'm not being reasonable?" she hotly interrupted.

"Alright!" I calmly, and patiently, replied. "Alright! I shouldn't have said that." Really, I couldn't believe that we were bickering like kids. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," she admitted, after, it seemed like, a minute or two had passed. "In fact, I'm sorry about a lot of things; not the least of which, is the realization that somewhere along the way, I lost my best friend. How do you think that makes me feel?"

"I'm sorry," I said, grabbing hold of her hand, which she threatened to pull away. "I'm sorry. You must know that I would never hurt you; not intentionally."

"Why then?" she asked. "I mean, I know we'd left _a few things_ unsettled between us, but…I guess…I just never thought that you'd stay away. We parted on good terms."

_A few things!_ That was it? Those three words, conveyed in the simplicity of _'nothing to be particularly regarded,'_ did much to marginalize the sorrow through which I'd endured these past four years; at best, they were nothing more than a polite acknowledgement that there had been some slight, unresolved problem between us. Was it even possible that after all this time, she'd still failed to understand the depth of my admiration for her? The maelstrom of emotions instigated by these three simple words threw me into a sort of aggravated resentment. After all, why did I place such a high value on love, anyway? It'd never proven rewarding to me, and all this pain and suffering seemed utterly ridiculous when measured against the more weighty problems in life. "I'm not exactly sure what you'd like me to say, Katara," I testily replied. "I've already apologized, and I meant it."

"You know what? You're right!" she indignantly replied. "You're absolutely right! We've both apologized to each other and that should be enough."

She was already on the stairs when I stayed her retreat. "Wait a minute," I begged. Her sharp vexation had jolted me to my _proper_ senses; I couldn't let her leave; not like that. I really did love her with an infiniteness that even I couldn't fully comprehend; and that love, more often than not, drove me to please her, as was the case now. "You've every right to be angry with me; but, you must understand that this isn't an easy thing for me to discuss."

"Aang, don't you think I've realized that?" she gently chided. "But if we're to get passed this, we've got to talk about it; we've got to be open and honest with each other." She held my glance. "Can we at least try?"

I nodded, and she sat down on the stairs, prompting me to do the same. "In some ways, this wasn't so much about you as it was about me," I told her. "After what had happened…_here,_ in this place, it made me realize several truths," she blushed repeatedly when I said this, "the most significant being, that when the war ended, things would change for all of us; we'd all have to get back to our own lives; me, to my duty as the Avatar; you and Sokka, to your lives in the South Pole; and Toph, to settle her differences with her parents. I know that we've always said that we're family, and for a long time I believed that; but let's face it; as we are, that claim can never stand the test of time. It's true that we've bonds that may never be broken; but those aren't the same as familial bonds. As you so sagely said the other afternoon, one day you'll meet someone and you'll marry."

"Aang," she whispered, quietly and reproachfully, as if she would've denied it.

"No, really, it's okay," I reassured her. "It took me a long time to get used to the idea, but, I think --I think it's okay now; and even if it wasn't the case now, I know it would be, eventually." I never thought that I'd be able to say those words, and mean them, more sincerely than I did now. "I guess what I'm trying to say, in all of this, is that I needed the time to endure on my own; to sort through a lot of things, which before, during our travels, I hadn't been able to." I looked up at her. "The loss of my people, for one thing, has never been more real to me than it has been these past few years; that was something that I still needed to face. Before, you'd always been my anchor; you kept me sane, through it all; it was time for me to take up that scepter, and stand on my own two feet."

"It must've been really difficult for you," said Katara, who gently touched my shoulder.

I smiled faintly. "Well, according to Toph, it builds character. Obviously, she's still dying to toughen me up."

"You spoke to Toph about this?"

"Technically, it was Horonka. Toph overheard us."

"You're really close to them, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am," I admitted.

"Can I tell you something?" I nodded. "It's a little embarrassing though."

"What?"

"When Toph first told me about your adventures together, I was…" she hesitated.

"What?" I prodded, after she wouldn't continue.

"Promise you won't laugh," she urged.

"An Avatar promise," I said, bowing slightly over my clasped hands.

"Umm…I hate to be a stickler and all, but last time that didn't exactly work, remember?"

"Alright, alright," I laughed. "So I was a little too much taken with Toph and her shenanigans. Can you blame me? Those were good times."

She chuckled. "I'll admit I didn't find cheating the cheaters amusing at the time, but, well, it's kind of funny in hindsight."

After the moment had passed, I asked, "What were you going to tell me? You felt a little what?"

"Well, I felt a little…jealous," said she, blushing.

"Jealous?"

"See, I told you it was silly."

"But, why?"

"I don't know," she said, avoiding my glance. "Maybe because…well, it just felt as though I was excluded from your life; I didn't really know what was happening with you, and I...I didn't like that." It wasn't so much what she said, but how she said it that caused me to observe her more intently, and she began to fidget with her hair. "You're not the only one who's done a lot of thinking in our time apart." She was still fidgeting, but this time, she held my gaze. "I've thought a lot about _that_ night and how it has changed us and how very _angry_ I've been with you."

"Angry with me?"

"Yes," she somberly attested.

"Listen, I know I messed up that night. I never should've tried to kiss you; it was a bad move on my part and I've regretted it ever since. I'm sorry." This earnest declaration, conveyed in the sincerity of my heart, was received by her with some surprise. "We've all done foolish things in our youth that we aren't too proud of. That, for me, is one of those crowning moments. You had every right to be upset with me. I don't blame you."

"That's not what I meant though," she explained. "I was upset because you let me down."

"What do you mean?"

"For a long time, I've believed that you stayed away because…because of what I'd said, and how I'd reacted." She looked at me with a searching expression. "While I knew that it wasn't what you wanted to hear, I expected you to understand my feelings."

"I won't lie to you, Katara," I told her. "It was hard at first, but, eventually, I came to accept it. At the same time, you also have to understand that staying away was the only way that I knew to deal with the situation, to be strong. It might've been cowardly; it might've been selfish; it might even have been childish, but, at the time, it was the best way that I knew to cope." A long moment of silence passed between us, and I knew that we were both sporting under hurt feelings engendered by our frank conversation. "What're we doing, Katara?" I gently implored. She rose and went to the banister. "I'm not so sure that this is helpful to either of us." Her back was turned to me and I lingered a while, where I sat on the steps, before rising to join her.

When I drew near, she turned slightly away. "What's the matter?" I asked. She didn't answer. Gently, I turned her face to me. "What are these tears?" I asked, astonished, as I raised my thumb to delicately wipe a tear away.

"You didn't give me a chance," said she, shaking her head as she tried to push me away, but I caught her around the waist and wrapped her in my arms. In this single, thrilling moment, her laconic declaration aligned itself with her tears, Horonka's remark, and the Admiral's avowal, and painted a story that was quite different to the one upon which I'd been deliberating just seconds before, and I was struck by my own blindness. Notwithstanding, I'd been so dreadfully wrong in the past, that I couldn't freely trust my own judgment now; hence, the hope that threatened to take root in my heart remained a cautious one.

"I'm okay," said Katara, who kept her face down and hidden from my scrutiny.

"Are you sure?" I calmly asked, as I rested a hand on each side of her shoulders.

"Yes. It's nothing."

"You said I didn't give you a chance," I softly coaxed, as I tilted her chin upwards. "A chance for what?"

We held each other's gaze for a while, before she wrapped her arms around my waist and relaxed her head against my chest. I didn't exactly know what that meant, but I answered her embrace by holding her closer to me, and buried my face in the sweet smelling fragrance of her hair. Though the chaos in my mind had been considerably allayed in these last few moments, my thoughts were still riddled with unanswered questions.

"Katara," I softly beseeched, "what are we doing? Help me understand this." Still in my arms, she raised her blue eyes to meet mines, and it felt as though we'd been transported back to that time when we'd first met. Without realizing what I was doing, I slowly bent my head towards her, and would have kissed her, if I hadn't possessed the restraint to stop myself; but I did. "What am I doing?" I whispered, almost to myself, with my eyes downcast and my forehead pressed lightly against hers.

"It's okay," said Katara, as she drew her head slightly back to look me full in the face. "Five years ago, I wasn't ready to be what you wanted. I am now; I've been ready ever since our last parting." She colored. "It took me a while to overcome my fears, but then…" her eyes fell, "but then I realized that all those fears combined could never outweigh my greatest fear yet- losing this chance with you. I hope…" she brought her palm to rest against my chest. "I hope I'm not already too late." If the scales hadn't already fallen from my eyes, they had now. I clearly perceived the love that was shining out through them. "My heart has always been yours," she avowed. "I didn't always know it, but I do now."

"Yes?" I asked.

"Yes," she confided, with a small, reticent smile.

With that simple smile, for the first time, all the shades of my life were changing. It had been a dramatic night for us both, and it felt as though my emotions had been put through the wringer; but, in the end, every bit of it had been worth it; every sorrow endured, every heartache stirred, every grief renewed, was already forgotten, because through it all, I had gained _my_ _heart,_ and, presently, _she_ _was all that mattered to me. _

"We did a fine job of making ourselves miserable," she said, as I took her hand, which had been resting against my chest, and enclosed it in mines.

"Shhh!" I said, lightly pressing my finger to her lips. "From here on out, we'll make a fresh start…new memories."

"I like that," she softly whispered.

"Katara," I said, while tenderly tracing her fine brow. "It feels as though I've loved you all of my life." She was looking at me very sedulously. "All those times you stood up for me –believed in me…" My heart was so full that I couldn't say anymore; but, her eyes told me that she understood.

Without a word, she embraced me closer, and cradled her head against my chest, until, at length, she said, "I have missed you so very --very much. More than you'd ever know."

I was lightly smoothing her cheek with my fingertips, when our eyes became locked in an unspoken intimation, and it was as though our souls touched. Slowly, _ever so slowly_, I bent closer to her and her long eye lashes fluttered shut. "You're shaking," I said, swallowing heavily.

"Y-yes," she unsteadily replied, as she nodded against my forehead.

I discerned more truly the answer in her eyes, and I leaned closer to her. When our lips touched, I felt her soft lips _tremble_ as they parted beneath mines, and I trembled, in turn, with the heightened passion and urgency of our kiss.

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_Guys, I don't usually write about make-outs (kissing) but if you want me to add some in the next chapter, let me know. You can PM me. I'm never sure about it because some people like it and some people don't. It doesn't matter to me either way._

_Next chapter: Friends & Lovers - covers the gang._


	9. Friends & Lovers

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Guys, thank you for the lovely reviews. I'm really glad that you liked the last chapter. About the emotional roller coaster that Aang and Katara went through, I just wanted to say that both were experiencing real fear, especially in Katara's case. I think Aang was already settled upon giving up his dream of being with her in a romantic sense, but, as some of you might know, when you've been holding on to something for so long, and that something is immediately before you, it can sometimes present a very real and difficult conflict in your emotions. I also tried to keep the tenderness that I think governs Aang and Katara's relationship even when they're at odds with each other. I think they're really great friends.

_Now, as to this story, this is the last chapter before the epilogue, which, by the way, will be vague enough to leave room for other stories. My original intention was only to write a short fan fiction for AangxKatara and be done with fan fiction in the world of Avatar. But I find I want to finish Toph's story and add more for the canon ships (though I've been strangely avoiding Maiko even though I'm a Mai fan). That's why I summarized most of the political stuff, which really could add a lot of depth to a story when considering the political mess in the world, post war. But then again, I've always loved to focus more on relationships and add the external stuff to enrich the story to make it more realistic._

_So, the next story will take place in the South Pole. It will primarily focus on Horonka, Toph, Suki, Katara, Sokka and Aang bonding. I'll also go into more depth with Horonka's background, especially since his family will be attending the meeting of the sister tribes, which has not been done in many, many years. _

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****Katara's Narrative**

I'd barely slept a wink all night. My thoughts had been rife with bittersweet recollections of that momentous affair. In those fateful hours that we'd spent together, I'd learned so much about myself –and about him; about how much we'd grown and how much we'd changed. And, although we'd made a pact to toss every unpleasant thing that had come before to the wind, I couldn't help but lament all the _precious years_ that we'd already wasted to our misguided notions. It was only natural that I should reflect on this; especially after tasting of the happiness that we'd already decided was to be ours, hereafter. He'd told me all about his devotion to me –how it had never wavered through the years even when his hope and wishes had seemed in vain. He said that no matter where his journey had taken him, in peril or safety, he'd kept me with him every step of the way. To learn that our two hearts had been equal in longing, and perhaps even so in suffering, had been a slap in our faces, and we'd vowed to never again risk our happiness to careless presumption. These earnest promises, and eager thoughts for our future, had kept me fluttered and excited until the first sign of light crept through the drapes at the window.

"Not hungry?" asked Suki. "You've hardly touched your miso soup."

It was past midday and the others were already off to their own pursuits. "Not really," I absent-mindedly answered. "When did Mai say Aang will be back?"

"She never said," shrugged Suki. "I thought he was supposed to leave today."

"So did I; at least, as far as I know, that was the plan."

"General Su was here earlier," said Suki. "Perhaps he had something to do with it; I think he went with Zuko and Aang to the mainland."

"You know him?"

"Uh-huh," said Suki, shaking her head. "Remember that afternoon when Mai and I were out on the porch playing Pai Sho?" I remembered. "He was here for a time waiting on Zuko and we were forced to keep his company." She visibly shuddered.

"That bad?"

"That bad!" she affirmed. "I think he thought we were idiots, and I swear it didn't take us long to start feeling like idiots. You know those kinds of people? The ones who make you doubt yourself even when you know you're right?" I nodded. "Well, he makes them look like amateurs." I couldn't help laughing. "But, you know what I don't understand? How Mai puts up with these stifling, old men."

"She says that's the way it has always been and I guess it won't change until a new generation arises or this old one passes."

"Now, that's really sad," said Suki.

"It wasn't much different in the Northern Water Tribe. Maybe it was even worse, depending on whose point of view; their customs went as far as defining the role that a woman should play in their society; and, in something as delicate as marriage, the woman had little say. I doubt that it has changed since I've been there last. In fact, I'm strongly inclined to think that Pakku only relented, and decided to teach me water-bending because he found out that Khanna was my gran-gran."

"We can always ask Horonka," Suki mischievously hinted.

"I already know his answer," I confidently replied. "He seems like a guy who'd play by the rules."

"About him," said Suki, darting a cautious glance towards the doors, "don't you find that he looks at Toph a lot?" I really couldn't say. "A few times, I've caught him looking at Toph," she appeared slightly embarrassed, "in an oddly, sentimental way, which is weird because his expressions are usually so –so inscrutable."

"Why are you even looking at Horonka?"

"No! No! No way! It's nothing like that," she vehemently defended. "Sure, he's a _very_ good looking guy, but he's definitely not my type; he's way too serious for me."

"Good grief! You make him sound so humorless."

"Well, he is --kind of." Again, she looked towards the open, double doors. "Anyway, I'll let you in on a little secret," she said in a hushed voice. "Ty Lee _really_ likes him."

"Uh, how is that a secret when she openly fawns over him?"

"Honestly, did you ever take her seriously when she does?"

"No," I reluctantly admitted. "Who can? She's obviously a flirt and it's hard to tell when she's kidding or not."

"Wait, you think she's a flirt?" she frowned. "Well, never mind that. My bet is he doesn't take her seriously either."

"About this thing with Horonka…I can't believe I've never noticed it before." Then again, who was I kidding? I'd been so consumed with my own personal dilemma that it would've been a lucky chance for me to have noticed anything beyond my own private sphere of obsession.

"I don't doubt it," Suki said, with a look that implied that she hadn't failed to notice my preoccupation these last couple days. "You're different today, Katara." I colored. "You know, yesterday when Aang and I were packing the lunch baskets, I couldn't help but notice how _particular_ he was about it." I was uneasy. "You two have always been close, but I sensed that there was something else happening between you." She was unconsciously stroking the lovely pendant that hung from the betrothal necklace that was clasped around her slender neck.

Being put on the spot like that, I wasn't sure how to respond, even though I was pretty sure that all the shades of color that my cheeks underwent should have been enough to confirm the answer. "Well?" Suki nudged. I think she saw a hint of smile at the corners of my lips, because she suddenly exclaimed, "Really!" and came around directly to sit next to me.

"Yes," I confessed, before her violent hug nearly smothered the breath in my lungs. We'd never embraced before, and I took pleasure in thinking that it was her way of sharing in my happiness like a sister would.

"I always knew that you two had something special," said she. "What took you guys so long to notice that?"

She appeared indisputably excited for us. "It's complicated."

"I see," she gingerly replied. "So, how does it feel?"

"What?"

"Being in love?"

"You should know," I diffidently replied.

"You know what I mean," she said, half laughing.

"Well –it's sort of strange, and wonderful, at the same time," I candidly explained, "because he's my best friend, and I'm usually very comfortable around him, but lately, there've been times when I get extremely nervous around him, in the most –amazing…electrifying way."

"That's because you're not only friends now –_but lovers, also,_" grinned Suki.

"Lovers," I softly repeated to myself. It sounded so peculiar to my ears. "Did you feel this way too? I mean, when you first realized that you loved Sokka?"

"Well, our story is different," she said. "We've been dating almost as long as we've been friends." Her eyes grew distant and I knew that she walked in memories past, beholding things as they'd been then. "All I can tell you is that everything else pales in comparison to that first, hallmark feeling of love. Of course, it only gets better after that, but in a different kind of way."

Being a novice, in this respect, I was rapaciously hanging on to her every word. "About that first feeling, I think I understand what you mean," I sheepishly admitted. "I was so excited –and so very happy last night that I couldn't sleep."

"You didn't sleep last night?" asked an intrusive voice that startled both Suki and I from our false sense of security. It was Zuko. He was standing in the doorway with Aang, who was lurking a little behind, with a furtive smile on his face. When I saw him, I blushed because I didn't know how much of our conversation they'd overheard. "Is it the room? I can have you moved to another, if you like."

"No! It's okay," I hastily objected. "I think I was just a little wired from all the activities yesterday."

"Yeah, the carnival was nice, Zuko," added Suki, who perceptively came to my aid to ease my discomfort. "Thanks for recommending it."

"Sure," he tersely replied. "Sorry Mai and I couldn't join you." He turned slightly to Aang. "Since you're definitely leaving tomorrow, what do you say to a bonfire on the beach tonight as a sort of farewell?"

"Sounds good to me," said Aang.

"Good! I'll tell Mai," said Zuko, as he turned to leave. "Are you coming Aang?"

"In a minute," I heard him say.

"Uh…I think I'll go see if Sokka's back," said Suki, awkwardly.

After she was gone, and we were left alone, for the first time, I turned my eyes to meet Aang's. "So, you didn't sleep last night?" he smiled.

"I couldn't," I bashfully admitted, as I turned away, and went to the wide, curtained window, which had a quaint view of the courtyard. 'What was this feeling?' I pondered to myself. His nearness made me positively flighty in an insanely thrilling way; I began to wonder if that was the way it was always going to be, or was this also what Suki had meant by that first feeling of love. "I thought you were leaving today."

"I was supposed to, but I had an urgent matter to settle with Zuko and his generals," he said, as he joined me at the window.

"General Su?"

"Yes, General Su," said he, a bit surprised. "You have some knowledge of this?"

"Well, Mai sort of told me everything," I revealed.

His grey eyes became grave. "I see; well, I didn't take General Yen's bending away," he worriedly stated.

"It was a good decision," I assured him.

He smiled faintly. "I'm glad you think so. Some of Zuko's generals disagree; they think I'm too lenient."

I clearly saw that his mind was disturbed, maybe even second guessing himself. "It doesn't matter; they're not the Avatar and they're certainly not you; they're not the ones whose integrity is at stake, especially before conscience."

He was looking at me very intently; I saw him raise his hand to lightly take a cluster of my loose brown hair between his fingers and began to caress it. He drew nearer to me, and immediately, _my senses were on fire,_ and I felt fleetingly faint. I'd never –ever in my life experienced sensations as titillating, _as enervating_, as devouring, as mind-numbing as these; and I was shaken by the _depth of abandonment…the vigor of incontinence_ -weaknesses that I never knew I had- that they provoked in me; the ferocity of their influence slew every last vestige of restraint that I had left within me. As suddenly as I felt his lips upon mines, they were taken away and I felt bereft and shockingly flustered.

"No," he heavily murmured. "Not here; not now." I felt the ardor of his gaze and I discerned then just how sorely his resolve was being tested. "Listen," he said, "I'm going surfing in a while. Will you come?"

"Of course," I replied, though I felt exceedingly unbalanced; my sensations were still fairly kindled and I felt strangely dissatisfied. "I'll go change."

"Katara," he called, when I was almost out the door. "Meet me on the porch."

"Didn't you have something to do with Zuko?"

"Yeah, but it won't take long."

By the time we got down to the beach, most of our friends were already assembled there. Horonka was sanding a broad, surfboard that looked like it was constructed from some type of light wood; another one lay idly off to his side, which Aang now picked up. "Aang, you guys are just in time," called Sokka. "We're picking sides for volleyball." He stroked his clean shaven chin. "Only, I don't think it would be fair to have you and Ms. Acrobat there," he whispered, and we assumed he meant Ty Lee, "on the same team."

"Actually, Katara and I are going surfing," Aang wryly smiled. "Sorry."

"Yesterday, an outing, last night, the theatre, today, surfing," said Sokka. "Could you guys get anymore anti-social?" he ridiculed. "Okay, listen up everybody. We need a head count. Who else is going surfing?"

"I'm not!" shouted Toph, who was sitting idly on her beach towel with a nonchalant, half-amused expression upon her face.

"Yeeaah," Sokka drawled. "We kind of already knew that,"

"I am," piped in Ty Lee's invariably chirper voice. I saw Aang look at Horonka, who shot him a "don't ask" look.

"That leaves eight of us, excluding Toph," said Sokka, "and ten if Mai and Zuko are gamed."

While Sokka and the others picked their teams, I went to Toph. "Do you mind watching my stuff for me until I get back?" I asked.

"Great! It's not like I have anything better to do" she sarcastically yawned.

"You'll be okay?" I heard Horonka ask her.

"Do I look like I need a babysitter?"

"See, if you'd taken me up on those swimming lessons," he said, tactfully ignoring her curt comment, "we could've gone surfing together."

"Seems to me that you're already in _good_ company," she snidely remarked.

That edge in a voice –was she _actually_ jealous? Maybe that accounted for her more than usual cynical attitude. "Swimming lessons," I interjected. "That's a great idea!"

"It's not going to happen," Toph partly sang.

"I hope you won't give up trying," I told Horonka, after we were safely out of Toph's hearing.

He smiled very slightly. "It never crossed my mind."

Aang and I had made it out to sea before Horonka and Ty Lee. While we waited for them, we, -well, it was more like he- began to discuss how we should go about breaking the news to our friends. "I think we should just come right out with it," he suggested, as he swam towards me, where I was sitting on the bobbing surfboard with my lower legs immersed in the water. He playfully grabbed me around the waist and pulled me down into the chilly water with him. "So, what do you think?"

"Sounds good to me," I responded, though, at the moment, I really wasn't too concerned with our friends, who were miles away on the beach, possibly having a good game of volleyball. With my fingertips, I lightly touched his lips and he gently withdrew my hand.

"Why do you tremble?"

"I –I don't know." During our kiss, on the night before, it was as though some mysterious power, which used to lie dormant within me, had been unleashed, and I was completely helpless against it. I really didn't understand _all_ that was happening within me; and, while the suddenness of it greatly distressed me, it also deeply excited me. It was so unlike that first spark of curiosity when we'd been trapped in the Omashu caves. That time seemed so distant and trifling when measured against this new feeling.

"Are you sure?" As he spoke, he carefully smoothed my dangling loopie behind my ear. My natural inclination was to resist; I felt that the matter was too much of an _intimate_ one; but, his kind, gentle, patient, grey eyes reminded me of our pledge to be open and honest with each other; we'd gotten passed our own misgivings, which had led us to conceal our true feelings from one another; we'd torn down that divisive wall, which had kept us parted and we'd decided between ourselves that henceforth there was to be no more secrets.

I inhaled deeply. "Okay, but it's really embarrassing." That slight awkwardness that our time apart had wedged between us was still present. I acknowledge that I longed for it to pass; I couldn't wait for that time when we'd both be able to sink back into that unrestrained level of comfort that had once governed our friendship.

"You may tell me anything," said he, rather solemnly. "I promise you that if it's important to you, it's important to me."

He was so good; yet, how was I supposed to say this? Do I just blurt it out? This wasn't exactly my forte. I anxiously turned it over in my mind until I began to squirm, mentally; contrarily, when I took another look at the compassion mirrored in his eyes, I found myself saying, "It's just that ever since last night, whenever I'm near you, or you're near me, or we're together," I began to fumble, "my feelings…my feelings, they become strange, and…and overwhelming," he was looking at me with an intensely searching expression, "and it's kind of scary." Great! That sounded pretty lame…but honestly, that was the way I felt.

He'd listened patiently throughout, and after a few moments had passed, in which he seemed to finally grasp the full significance behind my painful admission, he smiled and said, "And that's a bad thing, how?"

"It's not funny, Aang." I complained. "I'm not used to feeling this way. I'm always –you know…in control." He smiled. "No…that didn't come out right."

"It's okay. I understand you perfectly." He enclosed my hand in his, "You have nothing to fear from us, Katara…nothing to fear from this," he rested my hand against his steady beating heart.

I looked at him intently; and, as if to test this stated assurance, I leaned towards him and he readily met me halfway. When our lips touched in gentle communion, I was shaken by the rapture that this tenderness incited within me. Wave after wave of heady sensations transported me to a plane outside the realm of conscious thought and I slowly yielded to it. Somewhere in the foggy depths of my mind, I felt the pressure of his hand upon the small of my back, drawing me nearer still to him as our kiss deepened and lengthened in pleasure.

It was a long time after this before we grew cognizant of Horonka and Ty Lee's approach, which was heralded by the licks of the choppy water. "Hey, we were just about to give up on you guys" said Aang, who didn't immediately release his hold on my waist, but pulled our drifting surfboard to him.

"Don't ask," was Horonka's laconic reply.

"So, is this even ethical?" I asked Aang, who was hoisting himself from the water to the undulating surfboard. "You know, you using your Avatar power-ups for fun?"

Horonka, who had pulled his board alongside ours, must've overheard me, because he gave a small, amused smile, but said nothing. "I prefer not to think about it," Aang guiltily replied, before he reached down to raise me onto the surfboard with him. I watched curiously as he closed eyes and concentrated; for a few brief seconds, and only that, his tattoo glowed and then faded. I'd never seen him do this before, and I was somewhat surprised by its brevity. A few moments more and I heard and felt a forceful change in the tide, as we begun to be sucked backwards. "Hang on, Katara," he cried, and I instinctively held on to his waist for the securest grip.

"Here we go!" shouted Horonka; his warning drew my attention to the foamy, mounting waves that shrouded our previous view of the clear, remote horizon. I glanced at Ty Lee just as she reached forward to grab his waist.

For my part, I mentioned to Aang that I was used to surfing on my own and it felt weird operating as a second. "Just go with the flow," he cajoled, as we braced ourselves for the turbulent ride. Almost directly, I felt the huge, exhilarating surge beneath the surfboard. "Yyyeah!" he shouted, above the roaring waves, as we slanted sideways. Perfectionist that I am, I was too busy trying to read his movements to notice Horonka and Ty Lee, but I faintly heard him talking to her. "See, I knew we'd make a great team," teased Aang. "We can make it." And we did almost make it before an enormous wave engulfed us and pitched us all from our surfboards. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, braiding my hair in a few quick finger strokes before pinning it at the nape of my neck. "Let's try again." He laughed; but, as in everything else, I was driven to perfect this. As I said before, I was good enough, surfing on my own, maybe even exceptionally good, but I wanted us to be good together.

Later that night, when we'd already eaten and were indolently lazing around a bonfire on the beach, we began to discuss our plans for the upcoming months. "This is news to me," said Horonka. "When did they decide this?" He was responding to Sokka's relation that our tribes were uniting in the South Pole for the first time in many, many years.

"It's been planned for some time now," I told him. "You probably never heard of it because you've been traveling a lot."

"But my uncle knows to send any correspondence to me at Omashu."

"Yeah, and Bumi's, oh, so reliable," said Toph, throwing up her hands. Meanwhile, in my discreet quest to corroborate any truth in Suki's earlier assertion, my glance kept alternating between Toph and Horonka. I'd genuinely begun to warm to the idea that maybe there was something there after all. Only, I really wished that Toph had consented to trimming her bangs. It was such a shame that she kept those beautiful, green eyes hidden from the world.

Sokka loudly cleared his throat. "As I was saying," he pointedly resumed, "in four months, we'll have the meeting of our tribes," he took Suki's hand, "and Suki and I…we thought it would be a good time for our wedding, and you're all invited."

"Yay!" Aang congratulated. He was the first to clasp Sokka's forearm in an exuberant handshake. After everyone had settled back down around the fire, and was joking with Sokka and Suki about their long wait, I heard Aang's voice calling for everyone's attention. "Not to rain on Sokka's parade or anything, but Katara and I also have an announcement," said he, looking across at me from where he still knelt in the sand beside Sokka.

"Ha! Ha! You're dating!" said Toph, quite smugly. "What's wrong with you people? Everybody already knows."

I looked at Suki, who responded by saying, "Not me; I didn't say a word."

"It hasn't even been a day," said Aang.

"Face it! You guys kind of gave it away," said Sokka, matter-of-factly. "All those _lovey-dovey_ glances at the theatre last night –ugh." He rolled his eyes.

"Then you don't mind?" asked Aang, who didn't seem to regard Toph and Sokka's apparent indifference to our news, though I did. Their response, even if it was in good humor, was not exactly what I expected; okay, maybe in Toph's case, but not Sokka's. His had been in stark contrast to Suki's, and _he_ was my brother.

"Mind? Why would I mind? I've never meddled in Katara's love life before and I'm not about to start now." This overt conversation, carried on in front of everyone, who, by the way, was sedulously soaking up this exchange, reddened my cheeks.

"Who wants fire flakes?" offered Mai in her habitual phlegmatic tone; I was silently grateful to her for sparing me the further misfortune of having this impolitic discussion prolonged. Leave it to guys to be this dense.

Near midnight, when some had already returned to the beach house, a few of us lingered still around the waning embers of fire. Toph and Horonka were lying in the sand, on the perimeter of our little circle, with the crown of their heads touching, and their feet stretched in opposite directions. From what I could hear of their conversation, he was describing the moon to her, in perfectly sublime details, in a quiet, sedate voice.

"Will you come, Zuko?" I heard Aang ask.

"We'll try," he said, looking at Mai. "We still have a lot of problems to deal with here in the Fire Nation."

"Zuko, I hate to break it to you, buddy, but you'll always have political problems," Sokka pessimistically declared. "The moment you decided to change the Fire Nation's worldview that sealed your fate."

"Sokka!" I scolded, "How can you say that?"

"Very easily," he replied. "It's naïve to think that everyone would simply fall in line."

"But it isn't foolish to hope that one day he'll succeed."

Soon after this, Aang and I went for a stroll down the beach, with Toph's farewell words echoing in our ears, to don't do anything that she wouldn't do. "Can you believe her?" I told Aang.

"Toph's just being Toph. You shouldn't let her get to you."

"Hey!" I halted. "Are you amused by this?" I pressed my palms against his and intertwined my fingers with his.

He was trying to pull a straight face, while squeezing out a feeble 'no.'

"Uh-huh," I told him. "Liar!"

He laughed. "So, I won't see you again for another four months," he said, changing the subject.

"Can't you come any sooner?"

"I can't promise anything, but I'll try," he answered, as he tenderly cupped my cheek. "Is this a good idea?" he teased, stopping just short of touching his lips to mines. "We're absolutely alone." I was going to protest his ill-humor when, instantly, I felt his exacting lips upon mines, suppressing any hope of speech, and awakening that fearsome desire that I now knew dwelt deep within. When remembering the honor of the one to whom I stood willingly and timelessly bound, I freely surrendered to it. In a heartbeat, I was lost to time and space in an unending burst of engaging sensations, which washed over me in a continuous, impassioned flood.

* * *

_**rapaciously: greedily, ravenously**_

_**abandonment: to yield (oneself) without restraint or moderation; give (oneself) over to natural impulses, usually without self-control**_

_**incontinence: lacking in moderation or self control, especially of sensual desire**_

_**Regarding Katara, since she's never surfed on the same surfboard with anyone before, especially as a second, and I didn't want her to come off as perfect. I just don't like to make things seem easy for the characters; it's kind of unrealistic. Since it's her first time, I expect it to be a little awkward for her; I have no doubt that she'll improve exponentially on the second try. **_

9


	10. After Years

_**Author's Note: **__Guys, thank you for your reviews and thank you for taking this journey with me. As I've mentioned before, I plan to write another story that will continue from where the last chapter left off, but in the South Pole. I'll try to write most of the chapters before updating to this site because my schedule will get incredibly busier from now until March and I think the long intervals between updates would be too much. I've also been thinking about getting a beta reader but I'd prefer someone who has an interest in Aang. Anyway, I found out the other day that Aang-centric stories make up a relatively small percentage of all the Avatar fiction on this website, so it has helped to inspire me to write more about Aang (and well, Katara and the others). Actually, I love writing about him; I really like his character. One of the __simple__ things that I've always loved about him is the way he'd thank the villagers for some kindness that they had shown to him, Sokka and Katara during their travels. A simple thing like that made a favorable impression on me, especially when seeing it in someone who'll one day be a leader; it suggests a certain vein of humility._

_About this chapter, as I promised, I tried to be vague. The goal of this epilogue is to essentially wrap of the "humanitarian" efforts of the gang in the Earth Kingdom. _

* * *

**Aang's Narrative**

For better or worse, our deeds had a way of following us. It was in after years, when much of our work throughout the Earth Kingdom had ceased that King Kuei, and his provincial leaders, convened in the great capital city of Ba Sing Se to recognize and celebrate our humane efforts. In that ceremony, where Bumi was also in attendance, we were presented with a few gifts, of which King Kuei's liberal entitlement to us aroused the greatest stir; in a gracious act of generosity, on behalf of his people, he'd granted us the lifetime privilege of a fully staffed house that would be kept in readiness to receive us at any time we were in that city; little did we know at the time how perfectly it would serve our purpose in providing a home for those of our children, who would, in later years, elect to attend Ba Sing Se's university.

On that same night, at the end of the ceremony, the Earth King held a private audience with us to expound further on his motivations; he explained that he was indebted to us for the part that we'd played in helping to preserve the peace, which, for the most part, still reigned in his kingdom; he said that he couldn't deny that the escalation in the number of troublesome reports was still disquieting to him; he said that he was well aware that there was a growing restlessness among certain groups of his people who denounced him for the role that they thought he'd played in precipitating their existing hardships, and that he blamed himself for the years he'd been content to spend in willful apathy, while Long Feng patiently, and perfidiously plotted his demise; he said that he knew that many still held him accountable for those years of sovereign idleness, which had, in part, facilitated the ease by which the Fire Nation was allowed to run rampant, and unchallenged, in their beloved homeland. In short, he had a lot of regrets, which I believed did more to shape and influence his imperial destiny than any other corrective measure could have done.

He'd also informed us of his sworn oath to do better by his people now that the land was at rest from the _external_ threat of war, and the Fire Nation had proven true to its word by recalling the last remnant of its occupiers from the Earth Kingdom's lands, as set forth in the treaty of several years prior. Furthermore, he wanted to engage our goodwill, as we saw fit, against any future outbreak in skirmishes, since he could not neglect that his most recent intelligence suggested that looming possibility. He said that he'd heard of his people's esteem for us and how much they revered and trusted us and hoped that our collective voices would move them to reason.

On the contrary, in this, I thought he'd given us too much credit; at that point in my life, I'd seen enough and experienced enough of men's actions to know that once they genuinely believed that they'd been wronged, and was willing to act upon it, it was often never easy to deter them from that tenacious path. In any case, since my situation demanded an impartial stance, and I'd always managed to abstain from entangling myself in the political strife of any one nation, unless it was absolutely imperative, I couldn't promise anything; my duty, irrespective of personal ties, was to the world, and that meant treating the grievances of the _smallest to the greatest*_ with equal fairness. My friends, as free agents, did not hold themselves to _these strident_ _standards_ and were willing to pledge their allegiance to the Earth Kingdom's monarch, as they believed, as they would later tell me, that their intimate knowledge of him, in these latter years, had shown him to be a wise and just leader.

In the days following, we had further proof of the king's favor, when by his particular request, Katara and I were led by one of his generals on a mysterious five-day excursion, which eventually terminated in a vast, pastoral land that extended great lengths beyond our sight towards the kingdom's coastal borders. Here, to our unbridled astonishment, we learned that it was the king's chief wish to grant to us a special endowment of fifteen square miles of his finest land, to be ours, mines and Katara's, forever. Moreover, according to the General's information, the king specifically wished us to know that his heart was _irrevocably_ and resolutely set upon this. Admittedly, after our initial surprise had passed, we grew hesitant; we felt that it was too magnanimous a gesture, especially when considering that much of our labors had been the consequence of our earnest desire to help others; on the other hand, we'd also understood the king's subtle communication that he would indeed consider it an offense if we were to refuse his offer; another point besides, we couldn't ignore our prevailing circumstances, which were, in truth, a problem we'd kept procrastinating to each successive day. We were hardly ever at Omashu anymore, scarcely ever at the Bei Fongs, never in the South Pole, and were in fact pursuing a sort of full-fledged nomadic existence.

When Katara and I, through a series of solemn discussions, had settled upon our acceptance, the General took us on an extensive tour of the king's lands, which took us another three days to view. Much of the land was good, and we had few preferences, except that Katara insisted that we should take of the coastal land. We'd already determined between ourselves that we'd apply to King Kuei for a separation from the Earth Kingdom's mainland, as the political sensitivities that still existed then was a legitimate concern for us. Hence, some three months later, with the king's unhesitating blessing, I stood upon the borders of our land and summoned the relevant knowledge and skill of the past avatars and bent them to my will. On that day, in the southern waters of the Earth Kingdom, a new island was created that we would later call _Avatar's Isle_, which would, in the progression of time, become the home of some of the world's most reputable masters, both in the way of the sword and the mastery of the elements.

Over time, it became a land that flourished with several of nature's finest and simplest treasures; some that existed naturally, and some that we'd forged from our own bending. White sandy beaches, bounded by clear blue waters, comprised a significant portion of the shoreline. There were rocky cliffs, tiny coves, and narrow inlets that were formed, down through the years, by rough waters and the temperamental changes in the tide. There were gently sloping hills, profuse with rich, green verdure that outlined the majority of the northern aspect. There were natural springs that flowed from the earth's core, some of which Katara and the other water-benders eventually turned into waterfalls. There were flower gardens, and rich orchards, and wild fields, and green pastures, and forest lands, and green valleys, and small creeks, and so many other of nature's excellent pleasures that residents and visitors alike enjoyed.

Likewise, there were places of tender remembrances, such as the cliff where we'd go at nights to sit and gaze at the stars. Or the Airball Court, which was of ineffable value to me that I'd erected in the valley beneath our home to keep the visible memories of my culture alive. In the heart of the small forest, there was the hot spring bath, which was fed by tiny geysers that Katara and the other water-benders had fortuitously discovered while searching out the land; together, with the help of several earth-benders, they'd successfully managed to massage an incessant flow from the earth's crust to build a moderate-sized pool, which they'd artistically encompassed in a nest of smooth stones.

Between missions that took us away to other lands, our friends built boats that would convey them to and from the Earth Kingdom's mainland, as Appa and I, and many times Katara, were not always with them. Regarding the construction of our homes, the temple, and other fair structures, when word of the Isle had spread throughout the Earth Kingdom, there'd been many who came, benders and non-benders, to support our numbers. There had been those who came out of their gratitude for the help we'd given them through the years, and there had been those who came for the sake of Katara, or as some would call her, the Avatar's wife, who, in her untiring compassion, had healed many of their sick. Together, with the expertise of Haru and his people, we'd built homes that would welcome many, both friends and strangers, through the years to come. Hence, as we had begun, in the days of our youth, with helping others, so we continued until that time came when the weariness of our days forbade us.

* * *

_*smallest to the greatest: poor people and rich people; people without status and people with status; relatively poor nations and rich nations, etc._

_Regarding Katara, I had no problem taking her out of the South Pole because I'm using the premise that as the Water Tribes intermarry, they'll eventually be new water-benders in the South Pole. There seemed to be few women in the South Pole and I figure the men in the South can marry some of the women of the North after the sister tribes begin meeting again._


End file.
